The Road to Mallorca heads to Golf & Spa Kunětická Hora for the D+D REAL Czech Challenge this week. Here are three players to keep an eye on in the Czech Republic.
The favourite
Jeremy Freiburghaus has charged up the Road to Mallorca Rankings after a thrilling two weeks on the European Challenge Tour. The Swiss star has rocketed from 64th to fifth in the Rankings with a combined 15 under par for his last two events.
The 26-year-old carded a final round of 65 – the lowest round of the week – to finish fourth in Spain two weeks ago, before narrowly missing out on victory at the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A as Javier Sainz won on the second extra hole.
It was another impressive scoring week as he tied the lowest round of tournament with a seven under par 64 on Saturday. If he can deliver four under par rounds the D+D REAL Czech Challenge trophy could be heading to Switzerland.
The form horse
Conor Purcell has only played two events on the Road to Mallorca this year but has made his mark on both occasions. In his first outing of 2022 at the Challenge de España he was a stroke off the lead after 54 holes, and albeit he finished tied 24th, there was still plenty to take from his maiden voyage of the year.
He followed that up a with a share of fifth place at the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A last week. The Irishman recorded rounds of 67 and 68 over the weekend, dropping only two shots, as he shot seven under par for the final 36 holes at Newmachar Golf Club to claim his best result on the Challenge Tour.
The outsider
Kristian Krogh Johannessen missed out on a maiden Challenge Tour title 12 months ago at this event but returns looking for redemption following his play-off loss.
The Norwegian was pipped to the trophy by Spain’s Santiago Tarrio at the fourth extra hole and will be spurred on by the experience at the Dříteč layout. A pre-season injury has hampered his current form, however knowledge of the course and good memories from last year could give Johannessen a favourable advantage this week.
