Czech Masters Each-Way Tips: Chance for Lawrence to Czech in

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Albatross Golf Resort hosts the DP World Tour for the eighth time.

"He sits sixth in the par-5 rankings this year and has plundered the long hole when playing his best golf."

Main Bet: Thriston Lawrence 1pt each-way @ 29.028/1

The DP World Tour returns to Albatross Golf Resort this week for the Czech Masters and Matt Cooper has three selections with the Betfair Sportsbook paying seven places...

Main Bet: Thriston Lawrence 1pt each-way @ 28/1

With four par-5s (two of them out of range for many of the field in two blows) and three par-4s below 400 yards (two of them legitimately within range of the biggest hitters) Albatross Golf Resort in the Czech Republic has become a favourite of the tee box blunderbuss brigade.

As always with this game, there will be outliers and Paul Peterson has proved to be that - the American does not carry much distance threat with his driver, but he's taken a shine to the layout, winning in 2016 and adding tied fourth last season.

He's almost always been relentlessly accurate with his first blows on the non-par-3s as well, ranking top four for finding the fairways every time he's made the cut.

But while such achievements are arguably insignificant in the modern they are almost definitely so at Albatross because there's almost no penalty for missing the fairways which is why the bigger hitters have had fun here more often that the likes of Peterson.

2017 winner Hayden Porteous said of the track: "I feel like I have the length advantage to get on those par-fives in two. It's quite a big advantage on this course."

Thomas Pieters is a double winner here (hence his favouritism) with Jamie Donaldson, Andrea Pavan and Johannes Veerman joining Peterson and Porteous on the honours board.

Other than a lot of names beginning with P what the majority of them - and many others who have contended - have in common is the ability to make hay on the par-5s. They've flagged this by sitting high up the seasonal rankings or scoring heavily on the long holes in the run-up to their win.

Should that maintain this week it favours South Africa's Thriston Lawrence who sits sixth in the par-5 rankings this year and who has plundered them when playing his best golf.

There's been plenty of that too and it started with victory in his first start at the Joburg Open. He was 7-under for the long holes that week which was reduced to just 36 holes.

Some may have considered that victory as a bit of a fluke given the odd circumstances, but he's backed it up with another 10 top 25 finishes.

The best of those have been second in the Kenya Open (14-under on the long holes), tied third in the Irish Open (10-under), tied eighth in the Steyn City Championship (11-under) and tied ninth in the MyGolfLife Open (13-under).

The 25-year-old was a Lytham Trophy winner as an amateur but had early troubles in the pro game. He's found a way of playing his best, is making the most of his form this season and another win looks well within his grasp.

Next Best: Julien Brun 1pt each-way @ 33/1

Back in 2012 Frenchman Julien Brun won a Challenge Tour on home soil while still an amateur, created quite a stir, but didn't turn pro for another three years.

His first two seasons in the paid ranks were a struggle in Canada, whereupon he returned to Europe and won his first start on the third tier but by the end of 2019 he still looked out of his depth on the Challenge Tour.

A superb 2020 campaign on the Pro Golf Tour turned things around and eastern Europe played a part with a win in Poland and a second in the Czech Republic.

Back in the Czech Republic a year later, on the Challenge Tour again, he landed another second before winning again on home soil and he did so once more in Spain before the year was out.

Why the change of fortune and why did so much happen in this part of the world? Is it coincidence that he has been living in Prague for three years? In fact, he represents Albatross so there will be a pressure this week.

But he opened this season with five top 25s in his first six starts, has a pair of top 30s from his last three starts and told the French Federation of Golf that he has planned time off ahead of this week to prepare for what he sees as a big opportunity.

Final Bet: Alvaro Quiros 1pt each-way @ 150/1

It's astonishing to think that 11 years ago the Spaniard Alvaro Quiros won the DP World Tour Championship, a sixth European Tour win at the end of his fifth season.

Since then? One win, out of the blue, at the 2017 Rocco Forte Open.

He did manage a trio of top three finishes in 2019, the last of them a slightly unlikely effort at the tight Valderrama.

But the last three seasons have been a little wretched until he managed to post three sub-70s scores in landing T10th at the Hero Open two starts ago (pummelling the par-5s) and I'm slightly intrigued about his prospects in this course debut.

Because that width from the tee helped his last win in Sicily and also when he lifted the Portugal Masters at Dom Pedro - in fact Pieters, Donaldson and Veerman all have a decent record there. And Pieters, Veerman and Pavan have a good record at Leopard Creek, another of Quiros' past victories.

It's a little tenuous, but if he is going to find the spark again at this level this sort of track is surely a likely spot for it and, after landing a place pay out from three figure Renato Paratore last week, the Spaniard is this week's play from that range.

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Main Bet: Thriston Lawrence 1pt each-way @ 29.028/1

Next Best: Julien Brun 1pt each-way @ 34.033/1

Final Bet: Alvaro Quiros 1pt each-way @ 151.0150/1

Matt Cooper

Matt Cooper is an experienced and well-travelled golf journalist.

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