Masters patrons infatuated with tall amateur Lamprecht hitting bombs at Augusta National

Standing way back in the pines on the only hole Augusta National lengthened for this Masters stood a towering man with a baby face and a naive disposition.

Six-foot-8 amateur Christo Lamprecht stepped up to his second tee shot, his Gumby-like arms bending in what looked like the most unnatural position. Then he walloped a ball that was headed right for the big bunker down the second fairway.

And then it just kept flying.

“That’s fine,” Lamprecht said to his caddie.

The ball cleared the 330-yard bunker with ease, rolling out 366 yards away from the tee. The South African amateur made his first Masters birdie a few minutes later.

“I thought they moved the tee back so guys couldn’t do that,” a patron in the gallery blurted out.

How’s this for a Masters debut: Through two holes, he drove the ball more than 700 yards and was in the red.

After a sensational first eight holes, Lamprecht bogeyed 9, 10 and 11 and then suffered a costly triple-bogey on the par-5 15th, when his 120-yard approach shot caught the downslope and spun back into the water.

He finished the afternoon at +2, which means he’ll need a better showing Friday to make the cut and stay in contention to be the low amateur.

“I’m really pleased with the round of golf I played today,” said the 23-year-old. “I think I’m far from out of it, especially with this wind picking up for the guys in the afternoon … Hopefully if I keep the driver straight again.”

For a while, it felt like Happy Gilmore was at Augusta National. There was no hockey background, but patrons couldn’t get over the 6-8 frame. They couldn’t believe the way his legs looked like the Augusta pines. Couldn’t fathom how he could hunch the way he does and still hit the ball a mile.

“He doesn’t even swing hard,” one patron said on the 10th fairway.

“It’s all arms,” his friend replied.

Heck, there were people worried about his long-term health — newfound doctors believing back and knee pain are a guarantee.

“You’re not gonna see him playing on the senior tour,” said a man sitting in the front row on the 16th hole.

Lamprecht is used to all of this. On Monday, the Masters put out a video of him touring the Augusta National clubhouse for the first time, an incredible video simply for the access, but equally as entertaining to see Lamprecht ducking under doors and his feet hanging off the bed in the Crow’s Nest.

“I think I’m totally aware that I’m probably too tall to play golf,” he joked.

For most of the day, patrons had to wonder why more height-inclined kids were choosing basketball over golf. Then the day turned.

His poor luck started on No. 9. After another monster drive, his approach shot cut way left, hit a patron’s chair and rolled into the bunker. A hole later, his drive failed to draw, settling in the pine straw behind a tree trunk. Then came the 15th hole. Even after his drop, he flew the ball over the green and two-putted for a triple.

“I think as everyone knows, the back nine on the Masters is so volatile,” said Lamprecht, who attends Georgia Tech. “You can hit a good golf shot and make a lot of birdies out there, or you can hit a good golf shot and be penalized for

It was Augusta fighting back.

A day ago, Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley said he hopes there will never be a Masters played at 8,000 yards. To watch Lamprecht blast balls 100 yards past his playing partner and not just avoid danger, but totally take it out of play was to think that day is coming sooner than later.

On the first hole of the day, Lamprecht’s drive carried the steep hill and just kept rolling. When he finally walked to his wall, his playing partner Charl Schwartzel — the 2011 Masters champion — couldn’t see him. Lamprecht was 100 yards in front of his fellow South African.

“I’ve been coming here 30 years,” said patron Mike Sams, who was hollering in shock on the fairway, “and I’ve never seen a ball hit that far on No. 1.”

Schwartzel agreed.

“I’ve never seen a ball go so far in my life,” Schwartzel said. “The first hole, he must’ve had 90 yards to the flag, 60 to the front of the green.”

For reference: Day one leader Bryson Dechambeau — one of the longest players in the field — said he had a 145-yard approach shot into the first hole. As of the late afternoon on Thursday, Lamprecht was the longest driver of the day (327.5 yards) by more than 10 yards.

“It really gives an advantage on this golf course,” he said of the long drives. “I think your approach shots and leaving yourself in the right positions is so crucial. I think having that benefit of having a wedge in versus a 7-iron or something really helps.”

On the 18th hole, which often requires players to leave the ball short of a bunker or play a fade to completely avoid it, Lamprecht decided all that was silly. His arms became a sort of trebuchet, flinging the ball 337 yards … over the bunker.

A few hours earlier, Schwartzel was beside himself standing on the tee box. The bunker deep down the fairway — the one that can scare the heck out of you on the tee box — well that didn’t matter much for Lamprecht, who smacked his drive 367 yards and a mile over that trap.

“You’ve got to hit it really hard just to get it over the bunker, never mind over the (patron crosswalk).” Schwartzel said. “It’s crazy.”

About Christo Lamprecht

• From: South Africa

• College: Georgia Tech

• Age: 23

• Height: 6-foot-8

• Rank: No. 1 in World Amateur Golf Ranking