The Czech Masters is one of two remaining events before Luke Donald selects his Wildcard picks for the European Ryder Cup team. This means players have limited time left to impress the captain.
Shane Lowry is almost certain to be on the team and Robert MacIntyre is currently in on points, but will Adrien Dumont De Chassart or Ludvig Aberg, two youngsters who have impressed stateside, show their worth here in Europe?
This golf course rewards those that hit it the longest and ultimately the best players tee to green, which should play into the hands of those used to playing bigger courses in America.
Let's look into the Czech Masters, what it will take to win, and two selections that we think can impress here at Albatross Golf Resort.
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Before breaking down the course, and making our picks for the 2023 Czech Masters, we want to show you the best offers for this week's DP World Tour event, brought to you in association with OddsChecker. Lock in $350 worth of guaranteed bonuses, and $1000s in first bet cover with the offers below!
2023 Czech Masters: Course Preview
- Par 72
- 7,468 Yards
At 7,468 yards, it is no surpirse that Albatross Golf Resort in Prague is all about Driving Distance.
Since 2018, the leader in Driving Distance the week of the Czech Mastets has finished 8th or better in the event. In 2018, Gavin Green led the field in distance and finished 3rd. Thomas Pieters drove it further than everybody in 2019 when winning, and Dean Burmester and Wilco Nienaber have since led the field in Driving Distance, finishing 6th and 8th respectively.
In 2019, Pieters finished 4th in SG off the Tee and won. Arnuas led the category when he finished 2nd behind Pieters in that category that year. Three of the top five in SG Off the Tee in 2021 finished inside the top 12, including Crocker who was 2nd, and last year four of the top 5 in SG Off the Tee finished inside the top 8, whilst Perez who ranked 3rd, finished 23rd.
There really isn't too much else to it. Drive it long, straight if you can and get hot with the putter. Thomas Pieters ranked 52nd in SG Putting and still won, but since then, Johannes Veerman ranked 16th when winning, and Maximillian Kieffer led the field in that department last year.
Czech Masters: Key Stats
- Driving Distance - At nearly 7,500 yards this course is a brute, so take those that can hit far off the tee, and you'll have a good starting point.
- SG Off the Tee - Distance alone won't win, but superior driving will and that is what is required this week, and can be measured by the SG Off the Tee metric. You do not need to be deadly accurate to win here, and length is clearly more important, but SG Off the Tee will seperate those that just hit it far, and those that drive it well.
Czech Masters Picks and Predictions: Outright Winner
Antoine Rozner +4000 (Bet $100, to collect $4100) The best odds for this Antoine Rozner pick are at Bet365 Sportsbook
Antoine Rozner isn't even priced up in the betting to make this year's Ryder Cup team, but he will want to play well whilst the spotlight is on this event, which he absolutely can.
The Frenchman is a three-time winner on the DP World Tour who stepped up to this level after winning twice on the Challenge Tour in 2019. Rozner almost won his first title on the DP World Tour at the 2019 Mauritius Open but lost in a playoff to Rasmus Hojgaard. He went on to win the same event in 2022.
There is no getting away from the fact that this is a top-heavy field with Ryder Cup hopefuls in the mix, but Rozner has shown he can step up, most recently at the Open Championship where he finished 20th. Rozner was 4th after rounds 1 and 3 at Hoylake, and now he can build on that with a big week in Prague.
Rozner led the field in SG Approach and SG Tee to Green here last year when finishing 13th, which suggests a stronger putting week may have been enough for him to contend at the event that was reduced to 54 holes last year.
Back him to play well again this week at solid odds!
Sean Crocker +8000 (Bet $100, to collect $8100) The best odds for this Antoine Rozner pick are at Bet365 Sportsbook
Sean Crocker broke through for his first win on the DP World Tour around this time last year, and now he is finding form again and looks capable of doubling up here.
On his Czech Masters debut, Crocker finished 2nd, never sitting worse than 3rd after any round, and he ranked 1st in SG Approach and SG Tee to Green, and 4th in SG Off the Tee that week.
He missed the cut here last year but it was just two starts after he won for the first time, and now he is better prepared to win again.
In his past six starts, Crocker has finished 2nd, 14th, MC, WD, 19th, and 10th. The 2nd came in the Scandinavian Mixed and the 19th came in a PGA Tour field at the Scottish Open, two highlights of this run. His 10th last time out back home at the Barracuda was impressive, and he can now compete at a course he's clearly comfortable on.
Crocker looks overpriced at 80-1.
