D+D Real Czech Masters

D+D Real Czech Masters

D+D Real Czech Masters
Prague, Czech Republic
Winner: Thomas Pieters

When Thomas Pieters won his first title at the D+D Real Czech Masters in 2015 it started a whirlwind period for the Belgian. He won twice more within a year and made his debut in the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National in 2016, scoring four points out of five. Yet he did not make the 2018 Ryder Cup team and there had been no more victories until his second at Albatross arrived by one stroke over Adri Arnaus. Rounds of 67, 67 and 66 put Pieters in front after 54 holes and he led by three with nine holes to play.

Arnaus kept the pressure up, however, and Pieters had to grind out the victory with a 69 for a 19-under-par total of 269. Arnaus also closed with a 69, that included an eagle at the 12th and birdies at two of the last three holes, to finish two ahead of Sam Horsfield and defending champion Andrea Pavan.

“I’m relieved. It’s been a long time, three years since I last won,” said the 27-year-old Pieters. “It feels good to win again. I never doubted myself but it’s just been a long road of not feeling that great with the golf swing. It feels good to get back on track again and get another win. It’s difficult when everybody says you should be winning two or three times a year. It’s always nice to hear that, but it’s almost a negative sometimes because I always felt like I was underachieving, but hopefully there’s many more like this. I felt like I was in control today, almost the whole day, and I kind of did my own thing.”