THE CZECH MASTERS HAS THE FIRST WINNER FROM ENGLAND. GREAT ZUSKA FINISHED IN THE TOP 15

Of the eight Czech golfers, only one qualified for the D+D REAL Czech Masters, but Jiří Zuska made sure that domestic golf fans had someone to cheer for until the last hole of the DP World Tour tournament. The twenty-four-year-old Czech eventually took an excellent shared 14th place with a score of -14. The fight for the title, however, took place at a higher level of performance. England’s Todd Clements sensationally rejoiced at his first tournament title on the European Tour with a score of -22.

Despite the rainy weather, several thousand fans arrived at Albatross, and for most of them Jiří Zuska was the biggest attraction. The 24-year-old, still a fresh professional, entered the final round tied for 14th with a score of 11 shots under par.

Even before the first tee, he shook hands and exchanged a few words with the head of the DP World Tour, Keith Pelley, but he didn’t let that make him nervous. “I didn’t even know who he was. I don’t even remember what he said to me and what I said to him. I just smiled and nodded my head. I only had in my mind how I would play number one,” Zuska admitted after finishing the round.

But he definitely didn’t let the decision be made, because he made birdies on number one and number two. Just like the day before. “The beginning was great,” said the Czech player, who played in the flight with South African Hennie Du Plessis. Both then prepared a fantastic show for the fans on the par five nine.

Both lay about 110 meters from the green with the second shot. The South African played first and his perfect shot hit the hole. “I told myself that whatever I play now, it will be worse. But I wanted to hang up too. Well, I almost succeeded,” Zuska looked back at the situation from the ninth hole.

After his shot, the ball landed just in front of the hole, traveled inches to the right side of the hole, and after spin came back just to the left. He stopped only twenty centimeters from her. “I just hit the birdie. That was great too,” he added.

The only hiccup of the round came on the par-five 12th. Zuska tried to hit the green with his second shot, but the ball ended up in the water in front of the green. “I decided to go second on the green with a wood. It was a bit of a risk, but I calculated that water should not be involved. It didn’t work out, but I told myself that I won’t let one blow throw me off and I’ll keep fighting,” Zuska looked back.

He didn’t make a mistake in the rest of the round. On the contrary, on the difficult 17th hole, he passed to an excellent position and putted for birdie. He passed. “Unfortunately, that was a bad putt from me. I just pulled him in,” admitted the Czech player. He made up for it on the 18th hole, where he once again made an excellent pass, and this time he said goodbye in front of the roaring fans with a birdie and a final score of -14, which placed him in a tie for 14th place.

“If someone had told me a week ago that I would end up like this, I would have taken it for sure. I rate the tournament very well,” stated Zuska, to whom this placement also brought a reward of approximately 27,000 dollars. “That’s certainly nice and a few tournaments should cover it,” added the Czech golfer.

After all, winning at a tournament with a subsidy of 2 million dollars was played a few levels higher. There was plenty of scoring on the rain-soaked and softened course, but most notably by Todd Clements, who shot a 63 on Sunday to become just the third player to equal the course record at Albatross this year.

The Englishman Clements, who started at the D+D REAL Czech Challenge last year and did not pass the cut, took first place with a final score of -22 and then just waited to see if any of his pursuers would catch up with him or even knock him off the first row.

As the holes dwindled, one player after another dropped out, until only one remained – his compatriot Matt Wallace, who is also fighting for a nomination for September’s Ryder Cup. With three holes to go, Wallace was only one shot behind the leader, but he couldn’t convert a single putt into a birdie. Including the one on the final eighteen from less than three meters. He missed by only a few inches.

Clements could thus celebrate his first title on the DP World Tour and as the first Englishman on the Czech Masters. At the same time, he only secured a card on the Challenge Tour in 2020 and on the DP World Tour last year. This year, out of 21 tournaments, he only made the cut eleven times, and his maximum was tied for 21st place in the KLM Open and tied for 26th place in the Italian Open. He turned his thirtieth start in the first European league into his first victory…

He collected a reward of $340,000 for it, more than tripling his career earnings to date. And at the same time, he gave himself a very nice present for his 27th birthday, which he will celebrate on Tuesday. And he also contributed to the golfing family budget given that his wife is Olivia Cowan, a German golfer who already has one win on the Ladies European Tour.