In what is his first-ever major, the 6-foot-8 tall Lamprecht took the early clubhouse lead along with England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Emiliano Grillo of Argentina with rounds of five-under-par 66.

Lamprecht sank seven birdies, however, he recorded bogeys on the 11th and 16th.

Lamprecht said playing in the same grouping with the 2010 champion, Louis Oosthuizen, contributed to his fantastic round.

“I think that helped a lot with my score today,” he said about playing with Oosthuizen. 

“Having someone that I know very well and is a ginormous mentor for me that I've played previously with kind of helped me feel a little bit more at home and at ease.

“Louis was by far the favourite when I grew up. I've kind of grown up, known him personally, and watching him play, it's pretty amazing.”

“I don't think I've ever beaten him. I guess beating him today was really nice.”

The lanky golfer who studies in the USA admitted that there were some nerves, but that quickly disappeared after playing his first tee shot.

“I'd probably say the first tee shot was the only bit of nerves I had all day.

“I just walked off the first tee box after hitting my snap-hook drive, and my caddie just told me 'listen, you're playing The Open as an amateur, there is no need to stress'. We kind of had fun from there.

“It is pretty surreal to be in the lead. It's nice to see a lot of work behind the scenes pay off. It's something I haven't dreamt of yet, but it's pretty cool.”

Last month Lamprecht won the Amateur Championship at Hillside to qualify for his first major.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport