The European Tour leaves the UK for the first time in a while this week and heads to mainland Europe for the Czech Masters, the latest of the important tournaments for those who are hoping to make it onto the Ryder Cup team.
This event has been a regular fixture on the European Tour schedule in recent times but it wasn’t able to be staged last year. That means that Thomas Pieters would have had the chance to defend the title he won in 2019 but he hasn’t entered the event so we will have a different champion.
Recent Winners
2019 – Thomas Pieters
2018 – Andrea Pavan
2017 – Haydn Porteous
2016 – Paul Peterson
2015 – Thomas Pieters
2014 – Jamie Donaldson
The Course
Once again we are back at the Albatross Golf Resort this week after a two year exile. This is a track where the bigger hitters should have a massive advantage but actually two relatively short hitters have come out on top here in the last four years. The course is a par 72 which stretches way beyond 7,400 yards and with wide fairways and big greens everything plays into the hands of the powerful hitters, even if recent winners suggest otherwise.
Although length is no bad thing around here, it is becoming more apparent that hitting greens in regulation is the biggest requirement for this track. There is no punishment off the tee around here though so that gives the bigger hitters shorter irons into the greens which is why length could be important. That said, there is still the chance for someone who peppers the flags with the irons from the fairways to go well. I’m focusing on bigger hitters this week though.
The Field
This isn’t a tournament which usually draws a huge strength in depth as far as the field is concerned and that is the case this week. That is understandable when you consider the FedEx Cup playoffs are beginning across the pond. There are a few notables in the field but in terms of top 100 ranked players we only have two which highlights how weak the field is overall. Those two players are Daniel van Tonder and Sam Horsfield
There are a few players just outside the top 100 in the field. The most interesting players are probably Olympic silver medallist Rory Sabbatini who isn’t seen in this part of the world very often, and Danny Willett who is here to chase Ryder Cup points. Other players of note are Dean Burmester, Brandon Stone, George Coetzee, Padraig Harrington, Jazz Janewattananond and Adri Arnaus. Overall this field isn’t the best.
Market Leaders
Sam Horsfield is an 11/1 favourite to win the tournament this week. There has been a bit of all or nothing about his displays in recent times but it still isn’t too long ago that he won a couple of times on the UK swing and winning form is good form this week. He was third here on debut in the tournament a couple of years ago so if he is on a going week there are reasons to like him but those going weeks aren’t coming along as often as I would like and his putting is becoming a concern. He isn’t for me.
On the best prices you can get 18/1 on Rory Sabbatini getting the job done this week. He is clearly playing a level or two below what he usually would so it will be interesting to see if that translates into a title here. Sabbatini has played here before in 2016 and he finished in the top 20 and when you consider the form he has right now where he was second in the Olympics a couple of weeks ago and then in the top 10 at the Wyndham last week he has to be considered a leading contender here.
Danny Willett, Dean Burmester and Ryan Fox can all be backed at 20/1 in places. The latter is becoming a little expensive to follow when you consider he doesn’t have a top 10 in his last 10 outings but he smacks it a country mile which might help him this week. His only appearance here ended in a T27 so he’s easy to pass up. Willett commands respect whenever he tees it up at this level but he might be a smidgeon skinny. Burmester doesn’t have the form here that you would think he might but he does have the tools to go well here.
Main Bets
Dean Burmester has all the tools to deliver the goods here and he’s my first main bet this week. He is one of the longest drivers there is and that is a massive advantage this week. The only reason his form here in the past hasn’t been what you would expect is because his short game has been ordinary and his putting very hit or miss. He has worked hard on that though and now his putting is right up there week on week. To be fair, the South African hasn’t pulled up trees in the last five events but two of those were majors and one was a Rolex Series event which had a major field in it. They weren’t weak fields on a course which suits like this. Burmester has won on the European Tour this year and has three other top 10s. That is the sort of form that should take this down.
Johannes Veerman cost me a pretty packet when he melted in the final round of the Kenya Open earlier in the year but he didn’t do a huge amount in defeat in the Irish Open so maybe he has learned from that experience in Kenya and when he is in contention now he feels a lot more comfortable. I’ll take that chance because this is another course which should serve him well. He hits it fairly far and his iron play has been very good over the last three months or so. If he heats the putter up from the off this is a challenge that can yield a big week.
Outsiders
This is the kind of event I like to keep an eye on players who are going up in status because it is the sort of tournament that the big names lack motivation and often the desire to play well is half the battle here. Bryden Macpherson is an interesting one in that regard. He was a leading amateur a dozen years ago but hasn’t really cracked the higher levels of the pro scene. In fact, this will be just his fourth European start after an excellent time of it in Australia earlier in the year. His first two events were basically nothing to write home about but after opening with a 74 in the Cazoo Classic last time out he finished just outside the top 20 so he made serious progress there. If he is going to be able to mix it on this tour these are the fields he needs to be contending in. He was fairly long off the tee in his last two European events and seventh in putting. Those are the things to look for this week so I’ll keep the Australian onside.
Lee Slattery has a couple of top five finishes around here and while you wouldn’t associate him as the longest player on tour there are more than one way to skin any cat in the golfing world. It might be that form here is the best thing to look at as we see all the time a player comes good after a bad run when he arrives at somewhere he has good memories. Slattery needs a big week here after a poor season so he isn’t going to lack for motivation or knowledge of how to tame this beast and might deliver something for us at a three figure price.
Tips
Back D.Burmester to win Czech Masters (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 21.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back J.Veerman to win Czech Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
Back B.Macpherson to win Czech Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with BetVictor (1/5 1-6)
Back L.Slattery to win Czech Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with BetVictor (1/5 1-6)
Back them here:
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