Czech Masters will feature Luke Donald, Francesco Molinari and Shane Lowry for the first time

The D+D REAL Czech Masters – a tournament of the DP World Tour series, formerly the European Tour – will take place for the ninth time at the Albatross Resort in Vysoké Újezd, near Prague, from 24th to 27th August. For the first time, the $2 million prize money is up for grabs.

Another golf superstar will appear for the first time this year at the traditional Czech World Series tournament. They will be former world number one and current captain of the European Ryder Cup team, England’s Luke Donald, as well as two recent champions of The Open – Italian Ryder Cup hero Francesco Molinari (2018) and Irishman Shane Lowry (2019).

“Every year, the aim is to arrange participation with global golf stars as well as players who have never competed in our tournament. We managed to do it this year,” says Petr Dědek, owner of the RELMOST promotion company.

In addition to the aforementioned star trio, the tournament will feature other big names in world golf. In the past few days, players such as Pádraig Harrington, Adrian Meronk, Thorbjørn Olesen, Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard, Rory Sabbatini, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Pablo Larrazábal, Stephen Gallacher and Jamie Donaldson have already arrived in Prague and will play the tournament at Albatross starting on Thursday. The title is defended by Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer.

“The D+D REAL Czech Masters is this year’s penultimate qualifying tournament for September’s Ryder Cup in Italy and this exceptional position on the DP World Tour calendar has literally thrown us a number of great players who will be fighting for the last points and the attention of Captain Luke Donald at Albatross,” adds Petr Dědek.

A total of 8 Czech players will be in action. The professionals are represented by Filip Mrůzek, Jan Cafourek, Aleš Kořínek, Šimon Zach and Jiří Zuska, while the amateurs will include David Tomi, Jakub Hejlek and Louis Klein, who will celebrate his 14th birthday on Wednesday 23 August.

“The opportunity to include Czech players in the tournament was the motivation for organizing the Czech Masters from the very beginning. For each of the nominees it is another milestone in their careers. Jirka Zuska is the best Czech golfer this year. After his move to the pros, we secured him playing cards on the Challenge Tour and he has taken advantage of this to achieve great results. Louis Klein is a great talent and is gaining experience. He has what it takes to be a world-class player in the future,” says Petr Dědek about the participation of Czech players in the tournament.

The traditional general partner of the tournament is the Czech Raiffeisenbank.

“The D+D REAL Czech Masters has grown into a celebration of golf that brings together professionals and amateurs from around the world. It is a testament to the universal appeal of the sport and its ability to create lifelong bonds. That is why we are the general partner of this tournament,” says Igor Vida, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Raiffeisenbank, adding, “In line with our commitment to promoting golf, we are proud to continue our partnership that allows us to spread the joy of this sport. Through cooperation and collaboration, we aim to increase the accessibility of golf and inspire young and old alike to take up this fantastic game. Golf is more than just a sport, it is a way of life that promotes discipline, integrity and camaraderie.”

The tournament days will once again include a Raiffeisenbank putt contest for 100,000 crowns. The final will take place just before the ceremony on the green of the 18th hole.

One of the main partners of the event and guarantor of the education of young golfers is the Czech Golf Federation.

“The Czech Masters has been a real golf holiday in the Czech Republic for almost a decade. This year’s cast of players is truly extraordinary. I believe that every Czech fan will find his favourite in the packed starting field and will come to support him personally at the Albatross. At the same time, I am looking forward to the performances of the Czech players and I would like to thank the promoter Relmost for all the playing places for Czech amateurs. We are looking forward to another unforgettable week of world golf,” says Vratislav Janda, President of the Czech Golf Federation.

The D+D REAL Czech Masters is inseparably linked to the Albatross Golf Resort. Once again it is in great shape and ready for the world tournament.

“I would like to thank our new Head Greenkeeper Jiri Augustin and his entire team for preparing the course. They did an incredible job in a very short time even considering the weather we have had this season.
The fairways, tees, impact zones and greens have undergone frequent aerification and sanding to achieve their maximum hardness, the roughs have the required density and length, we believe we are giving the players a course they will really enjoy,” says Darina Muchova, General Manager of Albatross Golf Resort, adding:

“The main novelty of this year’s tournament is the construction of new, more distant tees for playing drives and woods. 10 new tees have been built behind the chipping practice area and the length of the driving range has been extended by them to 310 metres to the protective net. A 340-yard carry shot is now required to shoot over the driving net. We firmly believe that none of the players will be able to do this, because if they do, we will have to close the new tees with respect to our neighbours living behind the driving range and revert to last year’s option of using the net on the left side of the driving range.”

As part of the accompanying programme, a golf clinic with Luke Donald on the driving range is prepared for the spectators on Thursday from 14:30, on Friday from 15:00 in the Czech Golf Federation tent there will be an autograph session with Shane Lowry, Victor Perez and others, from 16:00: 00, an e-sports show with Dynamo Eclot and well-known youtubers will take place on the stage of the tournament village, on Saturday the Ice Hockey Challenge will have its premiere, in which the national hockey team will show their golf skills in special disciplines. Lukáš Sedlák or Filip Chytil will take part in the driving range demonstration from 14:00, followed by a performance by Chinaski in the tournament village at 16:40.

The winners of the ninth edition will be announced on Sunday 27 August after 5 pm.