John Daly and Rory Sabbatini, two of golf’s most colourful characters, will add some spice to the D+D REAL Czech Masters when they join the field for the tournament’s return to Albatross Golf Resort from August 18-21.
Two-time Major winner Daly, nicknamed Long John due to his distance off the tee, will bring his unique style of golf to the third edition of the tournament.
The 50 year old, who famously won the 1991 US PGA Championship after scraping into the event as the ninth reserve before triumphing in The Open Championship at St Andrews four years later, has recently joined the ranks of senior golf across the Atlantic.
But Daly, who has also forged a career as a country musician, will be keen to prove he can still cut it among the younger generations having made the weekend four times in six European Tour appearances in 2015.
“I cannot wait to play at this year’s D+D REAL Czech Masters,” said Daly. “I have heard a lot about the event and the venue looks really spectacular.
“Playing in Europe is always fun and, by all accounts, Prague is a beautiful city so I am really looking forward to exploring it with my fiancée Anna.
“But my main focus is to go there and perform in front of the Czech fans. I know there are big efforts to grow the game of golf there so it will be a pleasure to show them what I can do.”
South African Sabbatini will also make his debut at the event, the six-time US PGA Tour winner making his first regular European Tour appearance since 2009.
The Durban-born, Texas-based player spent 20 weeks in the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, sharing a runner-up finish at the 2007 Masters Tournament with compatriot Retief Goosen and American Tiger Woods.
“It has been a long time since I have played competitively in Europe so I am thrilled to be returning in August for the D+D REAL Czech Masters,” said Sabbatini.
“It is sure to be a fun week in Prague and, given it is the penultimate counting event for the Ryder Cup, I’m sure the competition will be fierce so I am certainly not expecting an easy ride at Albatross Golf Resort.”
They will join a strong field which includes the inaugural champion Jamie Donaldson of Wales, whose victory in Czech Republic virtually secured his place at The 2014 Ryder Cup in Gleneagles, where he went on to hit the winning shot for Paul McGinley’s team.
Another Ryder Cup legend, Lee Westwood, will play the event for the first time as he vies for a place in Darren Clarke’s team for this year’s matches at Hazeltine National Golf Club in the USA.
Petr Dědek, the owner of promoter RELMOST, said: “The announcement of John Daly and Rory Sabbatini is another exciting moment for the D+D REAL Czech Masters and signifies our ongoing commitment to bring a sporting event like no other to the people of Czech Republic.
“The Czech people are always excited by interesting and controversial figures in sport so I have no doubt they will turn out in big numbers to watch these two great characters battle it out with some of the European Tour’s biggest stars.”
