THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht is the new No. 1-ranked player in both the World Amateur Golf Ranking and PGA Tour University, rising to the top Wednesday in both listings following his runner-up finish at the Watersound Invitational last week in Panama City Beach, Fla.
Lamprecht overtook the No. 1 spot in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking from Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen. This is the second time this season that Lamprecht is at the top of the ranking, as he previously passed Thorbjornsen in October after his victory at the OFCC Fighting Illini Invitational followed by a second-place finish at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational.
In the back-and-forth battle at the top, Lamprecht’s finish at Watersound increased the gap between the top-two spots. With Thorbjornsen finishing T17 at The Prestige, Lamprecht now holds a 41-point lead over the Stanford senior. Lamprecht also finished 10 shots and 57 spots ahead of Thorbjornsen at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate to open the spring season.
Lamprecht moved ahead of Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Lamprecht and Sargent tied for second at the Watersound Invitational. The WAGR ranking includes tournament results over the past 104 weeks, and the George, South Africa native is at the top for the second time.
In the last year, Lamprecht won The Amateur Championship and finished as the low amateur at The Open Championship, ascending to the top position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and earning exemptions into the fields of the upcoming Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open. He also represented his home country of South Africa in the Arnold Palmer Cup and the World Amateur Team Championship. The 6-foot-8 senior won two collegiate events in the fall, the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational.
So far this spring, Lamprecht tied for 14th place at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate, and fell one stroke shy of his third collegiate win this year by one shot at the Watersound Invitational. Tech has three events scheduled in the month of March, beginning Monday at the Lamkin Invitational in San Diego, before he competes in the Masters Tournament April 11-14.
Lamprecht is on course to break Tech program records for stroke average in a year and in a career. The 6-foot-8 senior has a 68.47 average in 14 rounds in 2023-24, and a 70.09 mark for his career over 114 rounds. Four-time All-American Bryce Molder holds both program marks.
In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), PGA TOUR University ranks collegiate players based on their average performance in NCAA Division-I men’s team competitions, official PGA TOUR tournaments and select DP World Tour events. The Ranking Period for the Class of 2023 began Week 23/2021 and concludes May 29, 2023, following the final round of stroke play at the NCAA D-I Men’s National Championship.
Upon the conclusion of the collegiate golf season, the No. 1 player in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking earns PGA TOUR membership. Players Nos. 1-5 (fully exempt) and Nos. 6-10 (conditional) earn Korn Ferry Tour membership, and players finishing 11th through 25th earn exempt membership on PGA TOUR Americas. Additionally, a junior or senior who wins the Division-II Jack Nicklaus Award (National Player of the Year) will earn exempt membership on PGA TOUR Americas upon the conclusion of his collegiate career.