The European Tour heads back to Europe this week for the D+D Real Czech Masters from the Albatross Golf Resort in Prague, Czech Republic. This site was the stage for the Czech Open, which was hosted intermittently from 1994 through 2011. Three years after the final Czech Open, the European Tour made its return to the picturesque capital city with a new event looking to forge its own history.
Event Details
Event: D+D Real Czech Masters
Category: European
Date: August 18-21
Location: Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic
This will be the third renewal of the D+D Real Czech Masters with Thomas Pieters winning here in 2015, one year after Jamie Donaldson won the inaugural tournament back in 2014. Pieters and Donaldson will be among the favorites to win this tournament in 2016 but neither one of them will be able to claim the title of outright favorite to win the D+D Real Czech Masters according to the sportsbooks. Pieteres is coming off a strong finish in the Olympics where he placed fourth with a -9, just shy of Matt Kuchar and the bronze medal. However, he hasn’t been that great otherwise this year. He placed 86th in the US PGA Championship, tied for 30th in the 145 Open Championship, 29th in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and 16th in the 100th Open de France. As for Donaldson, he has been so-so of late too, failing to make the cut at the Travelers Championship, tying for 42nd at the PGA Championship and tying for 72nd at the Open Championship. The field here this week is weak, so that’s why these two are among the favorites.
Past Winners
2015: Thomas Pieters -20
2014: Jamie Donaldson -14
What To Know About The Course
The 7,516-yard par-72 Albatross Course has hosted this event since its inception with a lock track that has average width bentgrass, fescue fairways and bentgrass greens. It has taken only two years to realize that a powerful long game is the key to success at this tournament. Pieters led the field in Driving Distance when he won here a year ago while the runner-up Pelle Edberg finished second in that category. Both Pieters and Donaldson played the long holes better than anyone else here so while accuracy and putting numbers are important it will be Driving Distance that matters the most this week.
The Field
The outright betting favorite title for this week belongs to Andy Sullivan, who has showed flashes of his ability of late despite struggling at this tournament back in 2014. Sullivan is listed at +1015 odds tied by Pieters at +1015 and Westwood +1015. Matthew Fitzpatrick comes in at +1550 and Jamie Donaldson is at +2250. Richard Sterne is the only other golfer inside of 30/1 as his odds are posted at +3550. There is a slew of five golfers tied at +3550, including Bradley Dredge, Eddie Pepperell, Callum Shinkwin, Matthew Southgate at the Jaco Van Zyl. They’ll all be looking to break through with a victory this weekend in Prague.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Matthew Fitzpatrick over Andy Sullivan
Sullivan might be the favorite to win this week but he failed to impress in his only appearance at this course and his status for this week makes it an even better value to bet on Fitzpatrick in the head-to-head betting matchup. Fitzpatrick showed off his incredible power when he won the Nordea Masters and he is also very accurate off of the tee. The rising star is looking to make a name for his self with another strong performance this week and there is excellent value betting on Fitzpatrick over Sullivan this week.
Top-Five Pick: Thomas Pieters
Pieters delivered an outstanding performance here a year ago when he finished at 20-under and his impressive power off the tee should make him an excellent bet to repeat. Pieters is one of the biggest hitters on the European Tour and even after making the trip from Rio following an Olympics appearance he should be a strong pick to at least finish in the top-five in the D+D Real Czech Masters this week.
Top 10 Odds To Win The D+D Real Czech Masters
Lee Westwood +1015
Andy Sullivan +1015
Thomas Pieters +1015
Matthew Fitzpatrick +1550
Jamie Donaldson +2250
Richard Sterne +2550
Bradley Dredge +3550
Eddie Pepperell +3550
Callum Shinkwin +3550
Matthew Southgate +3550
