Towering golfer Christo Lamprecht swings for Masters history - ESPN

ATLANTA — Christo Lamprecht knows what's coming.

As a 6-foot-8 senior at Georgia Tech, Lamprecht gets it. He understands that most of the time, strangers who see him wearing a Tech T-shirt or hoodie definitely do not assume that his sport of choice is golf and, when they learn it is, inevitably ask him the same set of questions.

So, for the record:

Yes, he has big sneakers. (He's a size 13.)

No, he's not on the Tech basketball team. (Though he's taller than 12 of the 16 players who are.)

Yes, he likes basketball and the NBA even though he didn't watch a game until he was 12. (Rugby and soccer are far more popular in his home country of South Africa.)

And no, dunking isn't easy for him, despite the fact he's nearly the same height as LeBron James. «I kind of have to put a lot of effort into it,» Lamprecht says earnestly. «It's hard — it's a full two-leg jump!» Quickly recognizing that most other humans won't necessarily accept this explanation from someone who is taller than the average refrigerator, he adds, in a slightly lower voice, «I'm probably not the best jumper in the world.»

Fortunately for Lamprecht, a decent vertical isn't especially relevant to his life aspirations. Professional golf awaits him later this summer, but this week he'll play at the Masters — where, by all accounts, he'll become the tallest competitor in the history of the event.

Lamprecht earned the invitation by winning last year's British Amateur, and he accepts the reality that he'll be a novelty for spectators at Augusta National who are used to watching, say, Tiger Woods (6-foot-1), Justin Thomas (5-10) or Rory McIlroy (5-10).

«Golf's not really meant to be played by a guy that's 6-8,» Lamprecht says. «So, there's no blueprint to what the