Niall Lyons has five tips for the Czech Masters in Prague, Czech Republic.
Czech Master 2023
With the greatest respect, some of the renewals of the Czech Masters down the years have been run of the mill but the 2023 edition looks like the most mouth-watering renewal in a long time with the backdrop of the Ryder Cup in full focus. A handful of weeks remain to qualify automatically for Rome and whilst for a select few that is still a plausible route they will all have it on their minds that a wildcard pick is their best chance, and good golf these next few weeks holds a lot of importance.
It is no surprise therefore that we see the field we do, with the betting headed by Irishman Shane Lowry. Although I feel he will still be picked regardless, of the elite European golfers he remains a little vulnerable. No top ten since February is poor for Lowry he'll look to give the Captain more confidence in picking him in a few weeks time.
The two new kids on the block Ludvig Aberg and Adrien Dumont De Chassart take their place in the field also with the Belgian looking the big outsider of the two to make the grade. Aberg has acquitted himself extremely well on the PGA tour and although the vibes coming from Team Europe are extremely positive as to his inclusion, I for one am surprised at just how popular he is at this early stage.
His prowess off the tee is an advantage for Marco Simone of that there is no doubt but it is a huge task to entrust him with. Nevertheless, McIlroy talked about 'new blood' a while back and it may be prudent to take a risk this time given the strength and depth of Team USA. I for one believe Robert MacIntyre is more of a lock than Aberg but yet we see Aberg considerably shorter in the outright market this week in Prague. If the market is correct, then you'd have to assume taking Aberg is certainly not a bad idea.
Czech Masters Tips | Niall Lyons Golf Betting Tips
Attention turns to the Albatross course in Prague where big hitters have dominated down the years. Last year the top four longest hitters on the week all broke the top ten on the leaderboard. Pieters won here in 2019 being the longest in the field whilst the three longest hitters in 2018 all finished in the top ten. Hitting plenty of greens is another aspect of huge importance looking at past contenders here also.
Nicolai Hojgaard at 22/1 (Eight Places)
With Rasmus still having a legitimate chance of automatically qualifying via the worlds point list it still looks more likely that his brother will make the side despite sitting 26 spots below him. Nicolai is the one with much more eye catching form and for this week I'd have him much closer to Lowry and Aberg in the betting. Make no mistake about it, Nicolai Hojgaard is playing the best golf in the field. 21st at the Rocket Mortgage has been followed up with a top six finish in Scotland, 23rd at the Open in Liverpool then 14th last time out at the Wyndham having missed the cut at the 3M.
Not only does Nicolai have the length off the tee, his iron play lately has been magnificent. He led the field on approach at Hoylake and has gained plenty with his iron play in each of his last six starts. I'm surprised he sits 4th in the betting, I'd certainly have him 3rd at the very least and every argument to suggest he should be alongside or even shorter than Aberg.
Sebastian Soderberg at 100/1 (Eight Places)
Sebastian Soderberg is another who arrives off the back of a solid finish on the PGA Tour when finishing 10th at the Barracuda and having gone well in an extremely strong field in Scotland previously may be worth keeping an eye on. The Swede's last victory came this time of year in Crans when edging out McIlroy and others in a playoff in the Swiss Mountains so he has proven ability when taking down a field of this strength.
He may not be the longest off the tee but he ranks inside the top ten in par 5 scoring and inside the top 30 in greens in regulation. Steyn City may prove to be a useful guide for this with longer hitters dominating there and the Swede finished 9th there in March.
Juan Carlo Ritchie at 175/1 (Eight Places)
Having made a case for a handful of players last week who had arrived with good results on the PGA tour I was disappointed to miss out on Daniel Brown. He arrived at Galgorm off the back of a top ten across the water and previous form suggested he was certainly a candidate for punting. One at big prices with similar form is South Africa's JC Ritchie. The 29-year-old showed some promising signs throughout May and June with some impressive iron play. Woes with the putter were a proper blight on his results though and he failed to land a blow.
A trip to the States looked to spark a revival though and having putted well in Denmark previously it continued at the Barbasol and then onto the Barracuda where he ranked 3rd in putts per GIR. He ranks 33rd on tour this year in Driving Distance and 14th in par 5 scoring so if he manages to carry that form with him to Prague then he must hold a decent chance of going well at nice odds in a field a fair bit stronger than what Brown had to deal with last week.
Sean Crocker at 80/1 (Eight Places)
Another ball buster worth chancing is Sean Crocker who comes off some promising efforts lately. He went close in the Scandinavian Mixed event in June coming with a wet sail over the weekend to finish runner-up. That form has continued with 14th at the BMW International Open then recently 19th placed finish in the Scottish Open and 10th at the Barracuda. It's a solid run of form for someone who struggled a fair bit earlier in the season. He was runner-up here back in 2021 having been in the top 3 throughout the week and is dangerous having found his game of late.
Mikael Lindberg at 300/1 (Eight Places)
Mikael Lindberg may prove one to watch with his length off the tee and whilst he missed the cut at the Barracuda a second round of 66, ten shots better than the day previous is a decent sign. He hasn't put his best foot forward on his rookie year but he has stepped it up a little in recent months. 12th at the KLM kicked off a decent summer with further top 25 finishes at the BMW International Open and the British Masters. A made cut at the Barbasol was a fair effort whilst his recovery the following week after his opening 76 was impressive. Surely capable of better scores on a venue where a solid long game with ball busting driving often helps.
