Written by @Matt_Cee for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
The Czech Masters | Thursday 21 August – Sunday 24 August | Albatross Golf Club
The European Tour heads to the Czech Republic for the first time since 2011 and with the Ryder Cup just around the corner, there will be a few players keen to catch Paul McGinley’s eye. The tournament will take place at the Albatross Golf Club in Prague, a newly-designed par 72, 7,440 yard course spread over hilly terrain. The course is an unknown entity – opened four years ago – but a quick image search has revealed enough to go on. The course plays long and looks very exposed so distance off the tee and the ability to control the ball in windy conditions will be key. Accuracy won’t be as important as the fairways are wide, however, the greens are large and well placed drives give a greater chance to hit approaches close to the pin. I also suspect that with the rolling terrain, keeping the ball from rolling off the fairway will be a challenge on some holes. Putting will be another key stat to keep an eye on, due to the aforementioned large greens. Unfortunately the field is relatively weak but it has been bolstered somewhat by a few Ryder Cup hopefuls and that alone makes this tournament one to keep an eye on.
To Win Outright
Jamie Donaldson 11/1
Bernd Wiesberger 14/1
Joost Luiten 14/1
Danny Willett 18/1
Stephen Gallacher 22/1
VALUE BETS
Simon Dyson (28/1 a win, 62/10 a place)
Simon Dyson got his season off to a bang when he finished a respectable third in the Alfred Dunhill Championship. However, that was his best finish and since then he’s only managed a handful of Top 10s and only two Top 5s. Those two finishes came fairly recently though and he seems to have his game back on track, as was evident last week at the Made in Denmark. He looked perilously close to missing the cut there after day one but pulled his game together and finished in a very respectable T22, a finish that can be attributed to his consistency over the final three rounds. In a weak field, the Englishman is available at 28/1 and looks a decent each way bet.
Stephen Gallacher (22/1 a win, 48/10 a place)
Stephen Gallacher will be itching to squeeze into Paul McGinley’s Ryder Cup team to give himself a chance of participating in front of a home crowd and if he plays his cards right this week, he may find himself there. Compared to most of this field he has had a stellar season and a victory in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic was certainly the highlight. More recently, he performed very well in the Scottish Open, where he finished T4. If he can repeat that performance he has a chance here. Each way is the bet for me.
Rikard Karlberg (45/1 a win, 10/1 a place)
At 10/1 a place, Rikard Karlberg looks an exciting prospect for a Top 5 finish this week. He’s been fairly quiet on the European Tour this season but he has made the cut in his last seven starts and gave himself a real chance in the Malaysian Open. He finished T5 there, a finish which remains his best of the season, but he has been playing well since and only seems to let himself down in one round every week. Last week at the Made in Denmark was a perfect example of that as he opened with a 73 and still managed to finish inside the Top 10 thanks to some consistent golf over the next three rounds. If he can avoid that one poor round this week he’ll give himself a real chance. A win is optimistic but places look a great bet.
TOP BET: Jamie Donaldson (11/1 a win, 24/10 a place)
Jamie Donaldson is one of the players who will be eager to earn his place in the European Ryder Cup team this week and of the lot of them, he looks the most likely to do it. He’s had an up-and-down season and back-to-back Top 5s were followed by a missed cut in the Scottish Open. That didn’t damped his spirit though as he performed well in both the Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship and one can’t help but think that he has more ability than anyone else in this field. Donaldson is certainly a deserving favourite, get on before he shortens.
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