Ever since its inaugural edition in 2014, the D+D REAL Czech Masters has been producing memorable moments on the DP World Tour.
With eight different champions, six of them first-time winners, in nine editions so far, it has also played a major part in the career of a host of players.
Ahead of the tenth staging this week, we take a look at the history of the D+D REAL Czech Masters.
2014 - Double delight for Donaldson
Jamie Donaldson was already an established presence on the DP World Tour when he arrived at Albatross Golf Resort, with a win in each of the previous two seasons and sitting sixth on the Race to Dubai. A good result, however, could take his career to the next level with a place on the Ryder Cup team within his grasp in Prague.
He started the final round two shots behind fellow Welshman Bradley Dredge but hit the front with three opening birdies and while he would not have it all his own way, with Dredge and Søren Kjeldsen both challenging for the title, a closing 68 took him to 14 under and a two-shot win.
“I needed to play well either this week or next week, or both, to guarantee my place in the Ryder Cup team so there was a lot on the line and this week I played really well, so that’s great,” said Donaldson after his victory.
He would go on to play a starring role at Gleneagles, hitting a stunning iron into the 15th to seal a win in his singles match and a third consecutive European Ryder Cup victory.
2015 - Pieters powers to maiden win
There was already much talk of Thomas Pieters as a rising star and it was no surprise when he claimed his maiden win in Prague in 2015. After comfortably keeping his card in his rookie season and making a strong start to the 2015 campaign, his form went off the boil before he found it again in spectacular style at the end of the summer.
After opening rounds of 66-68, a third-round 65 catapulted him into the lead and he recovered from a double-bogey on the third on Sunday to post a 69 and finish three shots clear of Pelle Edberg on 20 under.
"To be a European Tour winner is an amazing feeling right now," he said. "I’m happy to have my family with me and I’m very proud of the way I played today, especially after that early double. It’s great to get a victory so early in my career. There are so many players out here that maybe haven’t won, or who have just won once, so I am really happy right now."
Pieters would go on to win again in his very next start at the KLM Open and more glory was to come in the Czech Republic.
2016 - Peterson enters winner's circle
Pieters returned to defend his title 12 months later but would narrowly miss out as American Paul Peterson claimed a one-shot victory.
The Belgian climbed off a 6000-mile flight from Rio de Janeiro after finishing fourth in the Olympic Men's Golf Competition and held a two-shot lead heading into the final round as he looked to keep his chances of automatically making the Ryder Cup team alive. But Peterson followed up his course-record 64 on Saturday with a 67 to get to 15 under and win by a single shot.
"This is the best feeling in the world," said Peterson. "My team and I have put in so much hard work and long hours by everybody and I'm just so happy. We had this as a goal this year and to be able to accomplish it means so much. It was fantastic, the crowds have been great all week. My sports psychologist was on the bag this week and my coach and my girlfriend came all the way from Phoenix. It's just so great to have all the team here."
A truly international player, Peterson would continue to split his time between the DP World and Asian Tours after his victory and is currently a regular on the Korn Ferry Tour. Pieters would go on to win the next week and earn himself a Captain's Pick for the Ryder Cup, winning four points on debut.
2017 - Porteous prevails in Prague
Haydn Porteous had claimed an emotional hometown win to lift the trophy at the 2016 Joburg Open but did not arrive in Prague among the favourites. He had made just four of his last 18 cuts in 2016 and a good result the week before in Denmark was his only top ten of 2017 so far.
Rounds of 70-69-67 saw him enter the final day two shots behind England's Lee Slattery but a closing 69 as Slattery faltered handed Porteous a two-shot victory at 13 under.
"It's been a really torrid time through the last eight, nine months and I've really started doing the right things and slowly but surely the golf has got a little bit better," said Porteous. "To get my second European Tour win under the belt just feels amazing. I'm sure this evening's probably not going to be the most professional moment of my life but there's nothing wrong with having a bit of celebration."
Porteous' win would help him make an appearance at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship and he is currently playing on the Sunshine Tour in his homeland.
2018 - Pavan downs Harrington for record-breaking win
A proven winner with four victories on the European Challenge Tour, Pavan had come through the Qualifying School to earn his card for the 2018 season and got his breakthrough at the 112th time of asking.
The Italian and Pádraig Harrington went into round four in a share for the lead and the three-time Major Champion looked set for DP World Tour win number 16 when he opened up a three-shot lead at the turn. Pavan had other ideas, however, coming home in 31 to sign for a 67 and beat his Irish rival by two shots. Pavan's 22 under par total set a new record for the event, eclipsing Pieters' winning score from 2015 by two strokes.
“It's amazing, it's massive,” said Pavan. “I've won four times on the Challenge Tour but it was a long time ago. I'll enjoy this one because it's really hard to get and I'll just keep working on the stuff that seems to be working and enjoy the success. I'm going back home tomorrow and we're having a second baby, a little girl is coming on Wednesday. We're really excited about that and I can't wait to celebrate with my family.”
Pavan would win again in 2019 at the BMW International Open but he would make just 14 cuts in 63 events over the next three seasons, not playing a single weekend for 12 months from August 2020. Another Czech triumph on the Challenge Tour last season helped him regain his card and he recorded back-to-back top-fives in June.
2019 - Pieters continues Prague love affair
There is only only one player with his name on the D+D REAL Czech Masters trophy twice and that player is Thomas Pieters.
He arrived in the Czech Republic having not won since the Made in Denmark three years earlier but in the previous season had added a top ten to his first and second at Albatrosss Golf Resort and having fired only two over-par rounds in 18 over the layout.
The Belgian led from start to finish on Sunday in 2019, with four birdies on the front nine keeping the chasing pack at arm's length and a further gain at the 12th powering him over the line. The winning margin could have been even greater, with Pieters narrowly missing a number of birdie chances early in his fourth round, but he also produced some wonderful par saves on the back nine as he made frontrunning look easy in a 69 that left him 19 under.
"I'm relieved," he said. "It's been a long time - it's been three years since I last won. It feels good to win again. I never doubted myself but it's just been a long road of not feeling that great with the golf swing. It feels good to get back on track again and get another win. It's difficult when everybody says you should be winning two or three times a year. It's always nice to hear that but it's almost a negative sometimes because I always felt like I was underachieving but hopefully there's many more like this."
2021 - Veerman holds his nerve for maiden win
The event was not held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic but when it returned it did so in dramatic fashion, with Johannes Veerman prevailing from a thrilling final-day battle.
The American has made a habit of coming from behind in his career, earning his card at 2019 Qualifying School Final Stage by moving from 144th after the first two days all the way up to a tie for 13th place following closing rounds of 67-67-66-66, and he had to overturn a deficit again in Prague.
Tapio Pulkkanen started the final day with a two-shot lead and while that was soon extended to four on an afternoon of high drama, there was a four-way tie for the lead on the back nine with Sean Crocker and Henrik Stenson also finding the summit alongside Veerman. The quartet did battle over a thrilling hour but Stenson and Crocker slipped back and on the 18th tee, it was Pulkkanen and Veerman who shared the lead. The Finn, however, found the rough and then the water to surrender a double-bogey and Veerman finished with a calm par to win by two shots at 15 under after a 68.
"It feels amazing. I was asked if I could put it into words and I can’t," he said. "When I walked off the green I felt relief more than anything. Being neck-and-neck with Henrik, Tapio and Sean Crocker and a whole bunch of guys - to come out on top, breathe a sigh of relief. I’m elated. I feel amazing. "To finally break out and win on the European Tour, it’s a dream come true being a European Tour winner. It’s something you practise for when you’re 12/13 years old, imagining making that putt. My putt was only a foot, so I wasn’t so nervous over it. I’ve got to soak it in. I feel amazing."
2022 - Kieffer ends long wait for victory
After ten years and 249 appearances with four runner-up finishes, Maximilian Kieffer finally entered the winner's circle on the DP World Tour in 2022.
A 2012 European Challenge Tour graduate, Kieffer had been a remarkably consistent performer in his decade on Tour but suffered some heartbreak, losing out in a record-equalling nine-hole play-off at the Open de España in 2013 and a five-hole play-off at the Austrian Golf Open in 2021.
In an event reduced to 54-holes after heavy rain on day three, Kieffer entered the final round three shots behind Gavin Green but was tied for the lead when the Malaysian had a double-bogey six on the 14th. He made a stunning birdie on the 17th to claim the outright lead when his approach shot of more than 220 yards set up a six-footer as he signed for a 66 and a 14 under total. Green could only par the last two holes and had to settle for second after a 71 as his birdie putt on the last lipped out and with it went his chance of a play-off.
"I just love golf, I just love to play golf," said Kieffer after becoming the first German winner since Marcel Siem in 2014. "Even if I had not won I still have a great life, I still enjoy playing golf. So now to win it's even better. You've just got to keep trying. I had a few difficult years where I didn't play well and then this year I feel like I'm playing very well. Deep down you never really know in golf so I'm just going to enjoy it."
Kieffer's victory sparked a fantastic run for German golf with Nick Bachem, Yannik Paul and Siem (twice) all going on to win since he lifted the trophy in Prague.
2023 - Big finish hands Clements first win
The man defending the title this week is Todd Clements after a brilliant bogey-free 63 handed him the trophy 12 months ago.
Clements won the English Amateur in 2017 and played on the MENA and EuroPro Tour before making his way to the Challenge Tour. He won the Irish Challenge in 2022 but arrived in Prague 151st in the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, with a best finish of 21st in 11 made cuts from 21 events.
In the final round, he made three hat-tricks of birdies from the first, sixth and 11th to record his lowest round in a European Tour group event and finish at 22 under, one clear of countryman Matt Wallace, who was also bogey-free in his 67. The four-time DP World Tour winner hit a wonderful approach into the last to leave himself nine feet to force a play-off but missed on the high side and it was Clements who was left celebrating.
“Given the circumstances that’s got to be the best round of my life,” Clements said after his win. “I’m over the moon. I’ve dreamt about winning for a long time and with my birthday coming up on Tuesday I couldn’t be happier. Three shots to make up is a tough ask but I knew I was playing well enough to get in amongst it. I feel like I did my job on every shot and obviously the luck was with me today because I holed a few long ones.”
