Johannes Veerman arrives in Prague with renewed confidence in his game as he makes his first DP World Tour title defence at the 2022 D+D Real Czech Masters.
The American recovered from a four-shot deficit early in last year’s final round at Albatross Resort before he closed with a stunning 68 to claim a two-shot victory over compatriot Sean Crocker and Finland’s Tapio Pulkanen in his 59th start on Tour.
Veerman registered his fifth top 20 of the season in the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale at Celtic Manor earlier this month and is determined to use the memories of his victory as inspiration this week.
“It feels great to be back,” he said. “Prague is a special place, it’s beautiful and it means even more for me to come back here. I’ve got great memories here. Good vibes, so it’s good to be back.
“It was really important. A lot of it was self-belief. Knowing you’re able to do something is different to thinking you’re able to do something, if you can finally get that notch on your belt. It did a lot for my game, my confidence, it was a dream come true."
“My game is coming back. I had a little bit of a lull, nothing too special. The game is starting to come around, I’m putting some good swings on the golf ball – it’s coming at a great time. I love this tournament. Hopefully I can come out this week and proudly defend my title.”
The 30-year-old, who earned his Tour card for the first time at Qualifying School in 2019, will be joined in the first two rounds by Filip Mruzek, who recorded the highest finish by a Czech player at this tournament last year when he finished 12th.
Veerman is making his second appearance in the event, having missed the cut on debut in 2019, and believes accuracy from the fairways will give him the best chance of a successful defence.
“This is a good ball-striking golf course,” he said. “If you can keep the ball out in front of you and take advantage of the par fives they’ll help you out a lot.
“The greens have a couple of sections to them with a lot of slope, so being able to put it in the right parts of the green, good speed control – it’ll be the key this week.”
Eddie Pepperell, who has three top tens in six appearances at Albatross Golf Resort, is hoping to continue his recent resurgence through the remainder of the season.
“There’s potential for me to play very well at the end of this year and who knows what that may entail, whether that’s wins or wherever I end up on the [DP World Tour] Rankings," he said.
“If I keep doing what I’ve been doing and progress forward I’m excited about the level of golf I feel I can play over the next few months, which would provide me with a level of satisfaction I’ve not had on the golf course for a long time.
“That would hark back to a feeling of inspiration that you get when you’re playing well yourself. When you start playing good and enjoy the golf you inspire yourself and motivate yourself to go out and do better.
“That’s what used to happen, and I’ve not had that for a long time but I feel like I’m on the cusp of that.”
