Damien Kayat previews the 2023 Czech Masters.
2022/2023 DP World Tour
Czech Masters
Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic
24th-27th August
Daniel Brown- not to be confused with Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown- won his maiden DP World Tour title at last week’s ISPA Handa World Invitational. It was a commanding performance that augers well for his future. The tour moves to the Czech Republic for one of the newest events on the DP World Tour: the Czech Masters. This event was first staged in 2014 and has been hosted at Albatross Golf Resort for every single edition (barring in 2020 when the event was cancelled due to Covid). This week’s edition has some added significance as this is the penultimate chance for players to stake a claim for a Ryder Cup spot. Robert Macintyre currently occupies the final automatic qualifying spot but there will be a host of players teeing it up this week desperate to make an impression. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald will actually be teeing it up this week, obviously keen to make some firsthand observations as he weighs his selection options.
Designed by Keith Pritchard and opened in 2010, the Albatross Course has hosted every edition of this event since its inception. Located on the outskirts of Prague, this course looks like a real beast at nearly 7,500 yards. That is slightly misleading as the course is situated at around 1,300 yards above sea level. Altitude aside, this is a course that has generally favoured the bombers (big-hitting Belgian Thomas Pieters has twice won around this layout). This long and exposed track features bentgrass and fescue fairways and fairly brisk bentgrass greens. In many ways this event is reminiscent of your typical US PGA Tour outing. Two par 5’s around the turn measure over 600 yards! So, I would look towards bombers who tend to go low on par 5’s.
Shane Lowry has been in pretty poor recent form and he will be looking for a strong showing this week in hopes of making his 2nd Ryder Cup. Talented young Swede Ludvig Aberg has received an invite this week and he is probably harbouring some belief that he could score a shock invite to Rome this year. The European side needs new blood in the wake of the entire LIV exodus. The Hojgaard twins are in and around the Ryder Cup conversation and both will be looking to impress this week. Adrian Meronk is actually one of the more in-form players in the field and he could be a real dark horse choice for Rome. This is actually a very competitive field, with the likes of Paul, Otaegui and Olesen lurking in the background.
Past Winners
2022: Maximillian Kiefer (-18) *54 holes
2021: Johannes Veerman (-15)
2020: event cancelled
2019: Thomas Pieters (-19)
2018: Andrea Pavan (-20)
2017: Haydn Porteous (-13)
Betting Favourites (To Win)
Shane Lowry (12/1), Ludwig Aberg (12/1), Adrian Meronk (12/1), Nicolai Hojgaard (14/1), Adrien Dumont De Chassart (20/1)
Value Bets
Antoine Rozner- To Win (33/1)
Three-time DP World Tour winner Antoine Rozner will be looking to make an impact in this fairly stacked field. He isn’t really being talked about that much but I think he has the game to compete this week. He finished 20th at Hoylake last time out (though he was actually 4th after rounds 1 and 3). He led the field in this event last year in SG: Approach and SG: Tee-to-Green. His putting ultimately let him down and saw him finish down the field in 13th.
Gavin Green- To Win (50/1)
This is really a classical ‘horses for course’ pick. Gavin Green has a power-based approach that just fits perfectly at the Albatross. He currently holds the course-record here (63). He was 3rd on his Czech Masters debut in 2018 and he finished runner-up last year. He also has decent form, picking up seven top 20 finishes over the past six months! That’s just an irresistible combination.
The Man to Beat- Adrian Meronk- To Win (12/1)
Adrian Meronk just represents brilliant value this week. He missed the cut here on debut in 2018 but improved to a top 20 finish two years ago. He actually sat 2nd at the halfway mark in 2021 and he arrives here in excellent form. He won the Italian Open in May and has since finished 5th at the KLM Open and 3rd at the BMW International Open. He finished 23rd at the Open Championship last time out and he should feel refreshed and reinvigorated this week.
