Last year’s winner Haydn Porteous will start the defence of his D+D Real Czech Masters title alongside English pair Matt Wallace and Eddie Pepperell when play gets underway on Thursday.
INSTRUCTION: Copy Haydn Porteous and keep your angles
South African Porteous clinched his second European Tour triumph with a two-stroke victory over Lee Slattery at Albatross Golf Resort and will begin his round on the 10th tee at 8:05am.
Porteous, who finished T6 at the Nordea Masters last week, is one of seven South Africans in the field which includes last week’s playoff loser Thomas Aiken. Aiken is off at 12:45pm, ten minutes after Dean Burmester, who rejoins the tour after a few weeks break in South Africa.
One of the Saffas to watch this week will be JC Ritchie, who gains a start on the European Tour via a sponsor’s invite. Ritchie bagged a win at the Sun Carnival City Challenge before finishing inside the top five at the VOG-Zebula.
Pepperell currently sits 10th in the European Ryder Cup Qualification standings following second-placed and joint-sixth finishes at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and The Open Championship respectively, while Wallace is a three-time European Tour winner.
Three-time Major Championship winner Padraig Harrington joins last week’s Nordea Masters winner Paul Waring and Ryder Cup hopeful Thomas Pieters in the group that tees off at 12.55pm. Pieters, who has won and finished second in three appearances in the Czech Republic, will be hoping for another impressive display as the event marks the penultimate tournament in the race to qualify for captain Thomas Bjørn’s European team.
The 2016 Masters Tournament champion Danny Willett will tee up alongside 2016 Ryder Cup teammate and fellow Englishman Lee Westwood as they start on the 10th tee at 7.55am with homegrown player Filip Mruzek.
There should be plenty of entertainment from the start at 1.05pm as 1995 Open Championship winner John Daly joins Andrew Johnston and Wales’ Jamie Donaldson in Prague.
Click here to see the full list of tee times
