Ahead of the D+D REAL Czech Masters getting under way at Albatross Golf Resort, we take a look at five things to know ahead of the action.
Major Champions on show
Three Major champions will grace the Albatross Golf Resort when they tee it up this week in the Czech capital.
England’s Danny Willett, the 2016 Masters Tournament champion, will be joined by three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington, and American John Daly - who won the 1991 US PGA Championship and 1995 Open Championship - when he returns to Prague for his third consecutive appearance.
Fifth anniversary
The D+D REAL Czech Masters will be making its fifth appearance on the European Tour’s International Schedule.
The first European Tour event in the Czech Republic was the 1994 Czech Open won by Per-Ulrik Johansson with the tournament running from 1995-1997 and 2009-2011, before it returned in 2014 when Jamie Donaldson shot rounds of 66-69-71-68 for a 14 under par total to win by two strokes over fellow Welshman Bradley Dredge.
Belgian Thomas Pieters then claimed his maiden European Tour title in impressive style the following year, before American Paul Peterson triumphed in 2016 after birdieing the last to win.
South African Haydn Porteous was victorious 12 months ago and is hoping to become the first back-to-back winner of the tournament this week.
Ryder Cup countdown
The qualification process for The 2018 Ryder Cup team started at the D+D REAL Czech Masters last season, and this year’s tournament is the penultimate event before the qualification process draws to a close for Team Europe.
Englishman Eddie Pepperell, who sits just outside the automatic qualification places in the European Points List, will be looking to force his way into contention with a strong performance in Prague, as will Pieters, who in 2016 did just that by finishing as a runner-up in the D+D REAL Czech Masters, before triumphing in the Made in Denmark the following week to earn himself a place on Darren Clarke’s side.
Porteous pushing boundaries
Porteous overcame Lee Slattery in a thrilling final-day battle to win his second European Tour title and in the process set a new record when he became the youngster winner of the tournament at 23 years 57 days beating Pieters’ previous record by 218 days.
"To get my second European Tour win under the belt just feels amazing.”
Course favourite
The Keith Preston-designed Albatross Golf Resort was added to the European Tour Properties portfolio three years ago and is a favourite amongst the players.
The 7,467-yard parkland course will present a slightly different challenge to the players this year following a partial renovation over the winter months, with the most dramatic design change coming at the final hole. The 18th is guarded by water all the way up the left side of the fairway to the green, making it a challenge for any potential winner, with four new lakes have been added to the testing lay-out.
