D+D Real Czech Masters
Daniel Brown (-15) went wire-to-wire in Northern Ireland to win his maiden DP World Tour event at the ISPS Handa World Invitational, cashing at a price of 65-1. Brown won by five strokes over Alex Fitzpatrick (-10), the younger brother of Matt, who won his first professional golf event two weeks ago at the British Challenge on the Challenge Tour.
Rounding out the top 5 were Eddie Pepperell (-7, 3rd) and Wilco Nienaber, Adrian Otaegui, Connor Syme, John Parry and Marcus Helligkilde, who all tied for fourth at -5.
This week, the DP World Tour heads to the Czech Republic for the D+D Real Czech Masters.
Shane Lowry (11-1) is essentially guaranteed to be a captain’s pick for Team Europe at the Ryder Cup next month. Others behind him on the odds board have a sense of urgency to make their cases for selection to European captain Luke Donald.
Adrian Meronk could have a leg up as he won earlier this year at Marco Simone, this year’s Ryder Cup venue. He is priced at 12-1 along with Ludvig Aberg, who played most of his summer on the PGA Tour after earning his card through PGA Tour U.
Less than three months after finishing his college career at the University of Illinois, Adrian Dumont de Chassart (20-1) has already won on the Korn Ferry Tour and clinched his PGA Tour card for the 2024 season last weekend.
The Hojgaard brothers, Nicolai (16-1) and Rasmus (22-1), are also in the mix for Ryder Cup selection along with Robert MacIntyre (25-1), who missed the cut last weekend in Northern Ireland, and Victor Perez (30-1), who withdrew last weekend after testing positive for COVID-19.
Alexander Bjork (25-1) could be a contender this week as he has posted seven top-10s on the DP World Tour this season.
The Event
The D+D Real Czech Masters began on the European Tour in 2014. Petr Dědek, the president of real estate investment company D+D Real, brought this event to the Czech Republic, and it has remained on the European Tour schedule ever since except for its cancellation in 2020 due to COVID-19.
The Course
The Albatross Golf Resort in Vysoký Újezd, Czech Republic, was designed by Keith Preston in 2010 and has been the host for the Czech Masters since its inception in 2014. The course, which is located on the southwestern outskirts of Prague at slight altitude, is a 7,468-yard, par-72 with exposed fairways and large Bentgrass greens that will roll at around 12 feet on the stimpmeter. Fairways are generous, and the bombers can flourish here, but shorter hitters have also been victorious on this track.
Water is in play on seven holes, including at both closing holes on the front and back nines. There are four par-5s on this track and three of those four are on holes 9-12.
Recent History/Winners
2022: Maximilian Kieffer (-16/200); 55-1*
2021: Johannes Veerman (-15/273); 25-1
2020: No tournament due to COVID-19
2019: Thomas Pieters (-19/269); 20-1
2018: Andrea Pavan (-22/266); 50-1
2017: Haydn Porteous (-13/275); 60-1
2016: Paul Peterson (-15/273); 250-1
2015: Thomas Pieters (-20/268); 80-1
2014: Jamie Donaldson (-14/274); 12-1
Event shortened to 54 holes – *
Selections
Robert MacIntyre (25-1, DraftKings)
MacIntyre missed the cut in Northern Ireland last week, but this could be a bit of a buy-low (or lower) spot.
He is paired with European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, so he is being strongly considered for a captain’s pick.
Bobby Mac has five top-10s this year, including a runner-up at the Scottish Open. He currently sits 60 in the world, so a victory here would vault him into the Top 50 OWGR and likely earn him a spot in all of next year’s major championships.
Alexander Bjork (30-1, SuperBook Sports)
Bjork has been one of the best players this season on the DP World Tour statistically. He ranks second on Approach, third for Scrambling, fifth for Driving Accuracy, eighth for Strokes Gained: Putting and ninth for GIR. He has done everything but win this year.
He also is paired with Donald, which lets him know that he is under strong consideration for a captain’s pick.
Antoine Rozner (40-1, PointsBet)
Rozner finished 13th here last year.
He is one of the better ball strikers in Europe, ranking fourth on the DP World Tour for GIR.
Wilco Nienaber (50-1, SuperBook Sports)
Nienaber rated first on Approach and Putting last week in his fourth-place finish in Northern Ireland.
He was eighth here last year.
Nathan Kimsey (60-1, BetMGM)
Kimsey is now six weeks removed from losing the playoff to Vincent Norrman at the Barbasol Championship.
He ranks second for Scoring Average on the DP World Tour.
Matti Schmid (70-1, Bet Rivers)
The long-hitting Schmid has missed half of his cuts this season playing primarily on the PGA Tour, but he may relish the drop in class here.
Any matchups or placement market bets will be up at VSiN.com/picks on Wednesday.
