Sourced from Fox Sports
The PGA Tour is about to have a new long drive king.
Christo Lamprecht is a 24-year-old, 203cm (six feet, eight inches) tall South African who is set to light up the PGA Tour after graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour on Sunday.
Lamprecht, who will be the tallest golfer on the PGA Tour next year, is almost the exact prototype of a new generation of golfer with an athletic build more commonly seen in a Springboks pack, who can blast the ball as far as the eye can see.
On the secondary US Tour this year, Lamprecht averaged 302.75 metres (331.1 yards) off the tee, while he once rocketed a drive in competition 418 yards — even further than the iconic 400-yard Happy Gilmore drive.
That numbers was matched by Chase Sienkiewicz, but it bettered the PGA Tour driving distance leader Aldrich Potgieter at 296.99m (324.8 yards).
Potgieter, a 21-year-old fellow South African who spent much of his childhood in Perth, eclipsed second-placed Rory McIlroy by 1.64m (1.8 yards) in his rookie season, which also included a maiden victory at the Rocket Classic in June.
But despite the statistics, Lamprecht admits that his countryman has his measure at the moment.
“I think if we play a tournament round of golf, I think Aldrich is longer, but I think if we go and mess around at the back of the range, I might get him a little bit on speed, but he hits it a country mile and he hits it really straight most of the time,” he told Golfweek.
“But I’m more impressed with his power. I’m 6’8” and just use gravity to my advantage, whereas it’s pretty awesome to see his body moving and kind of the way he creates speed. He’s something to see close up.
“I don’t know what they feed us down in South Africa.”
Height runs in the Lamprecht genes as his father stands 193cm tall (six feet, four inches), his grandfather was also 203cm (six feet, eight inches), while his great grandfather was a whopping 213cm (seven feet).
Lamprecht therefore has the perfect recipe for the type of long leavers that can help launch a golf ball long and high.
“I was slightly above average starting high school, 5’7”, but in my first two years during high school is kind of when my length all of a sudden just came about,” he recalled.
“I think I grew a foot the first two years in high school. When I left high school, I was 6’8” and luckily I haven’t grown much since.”
The Lamprechts also grew up next to South African golfing royalty.
“We have a family beach house in Herold’s Bay two doors down from where Ernie Els resides most of his time when he comes back,” Lamprecht said.
“So, growing up and seeing him on my porch a couple times and being a four-year-old, five-year-old kid that just starting out playing golf and hearing about this big name, Ernie at the time and he was at the top of his peak, it was awesome.
“I looked up to him a lot, and just listening to some stories and sitting on the porch late night at my uncle’s and just listening to some cool stories.”
As a youngster, Lamprecht was also in Louis Oosthuizen’s golf academy, and the 2010 Open champion, who has finished runner-up in all four majors, still acts as a mentor.
Oosthuizen’s words of wisdom, and some of Els’ advice over the years, were no doubt ringing in Lamprecht’s ears when he won the British Amateur in 2023.
He played in The Open and The Masters as a result, making the cut at Royal Liverpool two years ago and even sitting atop the leaderboard during the first round.
“Hopefully one day I’ll be walking down 18 the last day, not the first day with my name on top but it was awesome to take the world by storm a little bit and it was cool to see that my good golf is good enough to compete with anyone,” Lamprecht said.
“That was kind of the main takeaway I had. I need to pick up the loose ends and clean up all around. That’s the difference between a guy like me and Scottie Scheffler.
“He hits a lot better bad shots than I do. I felt like I was ready to turn pro and that experience of being in contention early on will serve me well hopefully in my future.”
He followed that up by finishing second in the rankings for the 2024 class of PGA Tour U while in his final year of college golf at Georgia Tech.
The moment that truly thrust him into the spotlight in America, however, was his breakthrough Korn Ferry Tour victory at the Pinnacle Bank Championship in Augusta.
It was no ordinary win as Lamprecht holed out from a bunker beside the 18th green for birdie to seal the maiden professional triumph.
But the aftermath of the massive moment was also an instant reality hit of the nature of professional golf.
“It took a while to kick in,” he said.
“My South African friend, Barend Botha, finished up on the front nine just before I did so he saw the commotion and came over to congratulate me and poured some water all over me but it was hard to celebrate when you have a 6am flight the next morning.
“But my agent flew in earlier that day and so we had some steaks and good wine for dinner and it was awesome.”
Lamprecht was also able to share the moment with his cousin Christian, who has been his caddie since he turned professional.
Christian made waves on social media after he was seen throwing his cousin’s putter away in celebration after the winning bunker shot dropped.
The pair have been inseparable since a young age, and will relish the chance to share the PGA Tour journey together.
“We grew up together about five houses down from each other. We spent about six or seven days together a week,” Lamprecht said.
“It’s been something that we’ve talked about our entire lives as kids and he was really good at cricket and so I always said if my golf doesn’t work out and his cricket works out, then I’ll become his manager.
“He’s been like a brother to me and it’s awesome having him on the bag 24/7.”
It has also been an important grounding year for Lamprecht, and one that makes him feel ready for the day-to-day grind of the PGA Tour, and the many challenges it presents.
“I have never in my life played that much golf,” Lamprecht said of turning professional.
“I always had time to practice to get ready for golf tournaments and it was kind of just like this ongoing circus and I never felt like I could get off for three seconds.
“That for me was a big adjustment and kind of adjusting my game to what the Korn Ferry demands.
“I think college golf is a little more focused on shooting two or three under and out here you gotta go five under or below every single day.
“It took a little while for me to adjust. It kind of gave me some motivation to see guys I played against have success – if they can do it I can do it mentality.
“Yeah, it might’ve been frustrating at times not seeing my name up there and but it was nice motivation, knowing that it’s around the corner.”
Sourced from PING Tour News
In the shadow of the Swiss Alps, Thriston Lawrence caught fire Sunday with an eagle on the sixth hole, then birdied five of the next eight to open a two-shot lead that he never relinquished to win the Omega European Masters. It’s his second time winning the event and his fifth DP World Tour title.
Lawrence won at -22 on sterling rounds of 63-66-63-66. He is the eighth PING staffer to win on the
DP World Tour this season.
He was loaded up with G440, including a G440 MAX driver and fairways, and a G440 hybrid.
What’s In The Bag:
DRIVER
G440 MAX,
10.5°@11.5°, flat +,
43.75″, Mitsubishi
Tensei 1K Blue 80TX,
tipped 1″, C9, 38g CG
shifter in draw
FAIRWAYS
G440 MAX 3W, 15°@16.5°, flat +,
42″, Mitsubishi Tensei Blue 80TX,
tipped 1″, C9+
G440 MAX 5W, 19°, 41 5/8″,
Mitsubishi Tensei Blue 80TX,
tipped 1″, C8+
HYBRID
G440, 23°@23.5°, 38.75″, Graphite
Design 95-X, D1
IRONS
i240, 5, Blueprint S 6-PW, DG Tour
Issue X100
WEDGES
s159, 50°S D3+; 54°S D4, DG Tour
Issue X100; 60°H D5+, DG Tour
Issue S400
PUTTER
PING Vault 2.0 Piper C, 33.5″, 70°
lie, 3° loft, PP62 Sigma grip
Sourced from The Golf Mag
Jonathan Broomhead won a fourth Sunshine Tour title in 16 months after beating Jean-Paul Strydom on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff at the Sunbet Challenge hosted by Time Square at Wingate Park Country Club.
Sourced from ICC Cricket
A century from Aiden Markram and an equally important half-century from Temba Bavuma has the Proteas in a dominant position in the Ultimate Test.
By Jonathan Healy, at Lord’s
South Africa are closing in on victory in the ICC World Test Championship Final after they dominated the majority of the third day’s play against Australia at Lord’s on Friday.
The Proteas reached 213/2 at stumps, with opener Aiden Markram (102*) and skipper Temba Bavuma (65*) at the crease and a further 69 runs required for victory.
The pair have batted superbly, with Markram in particular showing his class with his eighth Test century and Bavuma playing the perfect support role despite being badly hampered by a dodgy hamstring.
South Africa dismissed Australia for 207 in their second innings during the opening session on Friday, with Mitchell Starc (58 not out) catapulting the Aussies towards a lead of almost 300 following an enterprising partnership of 59 for the 10th wicket with Josh Hazlewood (17).
The victory target was 282 and when Starc removed Ryan Rickelton for just six in the third over of the chase it looked like Australia were going to skittle the Proteas with ease just like they did in the first innings.
But Wiaan Mulder (27) batted well alongside Markram until he misjudged a drive from Starc and picked out Marnus Labuschagne at cover, before Bavuma joined the party and used his experience to guide the Proteas’ chase despite picking up a hamstring injury while batting.
It wasn’t the only injury sustained on a hot day in north London, with Australia veteran Steve Smith sent to hospital after he suffered a compound dislocation of his right little finger when he grassed a difficult chance provided by Bavuma in slip when the South African captain was on just two.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins tried valiantly to break the stand between Markram and Bavuma, with the Aussies utilising six bowlers throughout the Proteas’ innings in an attempt to obtain the momentum that has swung greatly between the two sides across the first three days.
But Markram and Bavuma remained unmoved, with the pair showing great concentration throughtout their unbeaten stand to bring South Africa within striking distance of victory and a first World Test Championship mace.
The match ends what has been a gripping World Test Championship cycle, where the Proteas won seven straight Test matches to seal their spot in the decider, while Australia are looking to become the first team to claim back-to-back championships, with the concept commencing in 2019.
South Africa XI: 1. Aiden Markram, 2. Ryan Rickelton, 3. Wiaan Mulder, 4. Temba Bavuma (c), 5. Tristan Stubbs, 6. David Bedingham, 7. Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8. Marco Jansen, 9. Keshav Maharaj, 10. Kagiso Rabada, 11. Lungi Ngidi
Australia XI: 1. Usman Khawaja, 2. Marnus Labuschagne, 3. Cameron Green, 4. Steve Smith, 5. Travis Head, 6. Beau Webster, 7. Alex Carey (wk), 8. Pat Cummins (c), 9. Mitchell Starc, 10. Nathan Lyon, 11. Josh Hazlewood
PING Pros enjoyed another double victory over the weekend, with Wilco Nienaber and Simon Griffiths winning on their respective tours in South Africa and Spain.
Nienaber went wire-to-wire and secured his 2nd NTT DATA Pro Am title at the Fancourt Golf Estate. The South African exhibited a remarkable display, whilst using his G440 LST driver, to secure a convincing seven-stroke victory on home soil.
Sourced from betway SA20
Rising star Lhuan-dre Pretorius is fast making himself an instant Betway SA20 hero, scoring a second blazing half-century in Paarl Royals’ Cape derby win over neighbours MI Cape Town at Boland Park on Wednesday evening.
Pretorius smashed three sixes and eight boundaries in 52-ball 83 to follow up his 97 on debut at the same ground.
The 18-year-old has certainly become a fan favourite of the Royals in quick time.
Chasing down MI Cape Town’s 158/4, Pretorius benefitted from two dropped catches to power the home team to victory by six wickets to avenge Monday night’s defeat at Newlands.
The powerful left-hander struck the ball sweetly all around Boland Park but was particularly severe on left-arm spinner George Linde with a couple of sixes over the leg-side boundary.
Pretorius’ innings was only ended through a magnificent piece of fielding from MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan, who threw the stumps down with a direct hit.
But Pretorius had already done the major damage which allowed Royals skipper David Miller to comfortably take his team over the line with an undefeated 22.
MI Cape Town had earlier battled towards a competitive total due to Rassie van der Dussen’s 91 not out off 64 balls (5×4, 5×6).
Reeza Hendricks provided support with a solid 30, but once he was clean bowled for the second time by Royals mystery spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman the home team took control.
Mujeeb (2/27) along with Sri Lankan debutant Dunith Wellalage (0/17) and Joe Root (1/24) utilised the spin friendly conditions to their advantage as they tightened the noose around the MI Cape Town middle-order.
It proved to be the difference on the night as the Royals moved into joint second place with the Joburg Super Kings on eight points. MI Cape Town remains top of the table with nine points, but have played one game more than their two closest rivals.
Image Sourced from Betway SA20 Facebook
The new G440 family represents our next generation of score-lowering technologies, each engineered and optimized to bring your game more distance and forgiveness through faster ball speeds. when combined with the most thorough custom-fitting process in golf, your entire set will be optimized and gapped to you, taking your game farther than ever.
Johannes Veerman earned his second DP World Tour title Sunday, holding the trophy at the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa.
On a day where the G440 driver had its first win, Veerman’s victory with a G430 LST was the 145th for G430 drivers, more than 100 coming with the LST model.
PING technology in his bag included a G430 MAX 3W and 5W, i230 (3) and Blueprint S irons, s159 wedges, and a PLD Anser 30 putter.
STRAIGHTER FLIES FARTHER.
It’s a fact. The straighter your drives, the longer your drives. The G430 MAX 10K’s record-setting MOI puts you in the fairway and closer to the green.
GOLF IS MORE FUN FROM THE FAIRWAY.
It’s called MAX 10K because it eclipses the 10,000 g-cm² combined MOI threshol, setting a record and making it our straighest and most forgiving driver ever.
LOWER SPIN. LONGER DRIVES.
Weight savings from the Carbonfly Wrap crown are reallocated to lower the CG, reduce spin, raise MOI and increase ball speed.
Relying on a blended set of Blueprint S and Blueprint T irons, a G430 LST driver and more, Louis Oosthuizen earned a two-shot victory at a tournament that he has “really, really wanted to win”, the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his home country of South Africa.
Oosthuizen made his big move with a tournament-best 9-under 63 in the third round on his way to his 10th DP World Tour title. This is the second-consecutive DP victory for PING, following Joaquín Niemann’s last week in Australia.
Also in Oosthuizen’s bag were a G430 MAX 3-wood, G425 MAX 7-wood, Blueprint S (4, 5) and Blueprint T (6- W) irons, and a PLD Custom Voss putter.
