August 22, 2016
Paul Peterson shot a 5-under 67 on Sunday to win the Czech Masters by one stroke and earn the 398th-ranked American his first victory on the European Tour.
In a close contest with defending champion Thomas Pieters of Belgium, Peterson took the decisive lead when he birdied the par-3 16th hole after a superb tee shot for a total 15-under 273 at the Albatross Golf Resort near Prague.
''It's a dream come true, honestly,'' Peterson said. ''This is the best feeling in the world. My team and I have put in so much hard work and long hours by everybody and I'm just so happy. We had this as a goal this year and to be able to accomplish it means so much.''
Peterson, who had previously recorded only two top 10 finishes on the European Tour, began the final round two strokes behind Pieters after equaling the course record on Saturday with an 8-under 64.
Pieters missed his chances to birdie the 14th and 15th on his way to carding a 70, a week after a fourth-place finish at the Rio Olympic course.
He needed a victory to keep alive his hopes of an automatic place on Europe's Ryder Cup team and attacked with a birdie on the 18th,. But it came too late after Peterson sealed the victory with a 17-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
''I'll remember that putt on the 18th the rest of my life,'' Peterson said.
Another Ryder Cup hopeful, Matthew Fitzpatrick of England, virtually secured a spot on captain Darren Clarke's team for the matchup against the United States at Hazeltine with a fifth-place finish. A 3-under final round saw him finish five strokes behind Peterson.
Lee Westwood, who hopes to be a Ryder Cup wildcard pick, birdied two of the last three holes to shoot a level par for a 4-under 284.
Englishmen David Howell and Ryan Evans were tied for third on 11-under 277.
August 21, 2016
Defending champion Thomas Pieters will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Czech Masters, after moving onto 12 under par overall in Prague on Saturday.
The Belgian went into the third day tied for the lead with Denmark's Jeff Winther and, despite back-to-back bogeys early on the back nine, the 24-year-old is in pole position to make it consecutive victories at the Albatross Golf Resort.
Pieters settled for a two-under-par 70 after six successive pars to finish his round and is a couple of strokes clear of American Paul Peterson.
He needs to win the tournament and also claim the Made in Denmark title next week if he is to force his way into the automatic qualifying places for Darren Clarke's European Ryder Cup team.
"I'm not very happy with today but I'm still in front so I'm just looking forward tomorrow and hopefully I can post a good score," Pieters told the European Tour website.
"It was the same last year, I was one ahead, so I've been in this position and hopefully I can just use what I learned the last time around.
"I feel quite relaxed out there with my caddie and we have a good game plan so everything is set to go well tomorrow."
Peterson, the world number 398, took the course apart with eight birdies in a 64 to catapult himself into the final group for Sunday.
Winther had to fight hard for a one-over-par 73 and is tied for third with Robert Rock, who signed for a 65.
Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick, who currently holds the last automatic spot for the Ryder Cup matches that start at Hazeltine next month, could only manage a 71 and is now five shots adrift of Pieters.
August 20, 2016
Defending champion Thomas Pieters stormed into a tie for the lead at the halfway stage of the Czech Masters in Prague on Friday.
The Belgian is level with Denmark's Jeff Winther at the top of the leaderboard on 10 under par.
The 24-year-old Pieters went into the second day one shot behind overnight leader Ryan Evans, but he carded a bogey-free second successive round of 67.
Pieters claimed his maiden European Tour title in the Czech Republic last season and he continued to dominate the course at the Albatross Resort on Friday, with a double-bogey at the eighth hole in the opening round still his only blemish of the week.
The world number 61 needs to retain his title and win in Denmark next week if he is to remain in with a chance of qualifying automatically for Darren Clarke's European Ryder Cup team.
"It's always nice to go bogey-free and make some nice putts," Pieters, who finished fourth in the Rio Olympics competition last week, told the European Tour website.
"I'm hitting irons very well, my ball-striking has been very good the last few days. It feels controlled and stress-free golf.
"All I can do is do my best this week and we'll see where it brings me and then next week it's the same thing."
Winther, the world number 320, started his second round with an eagle at the par-five first, and a run of four birdies in five holes at the start of the inward nine helped him keep pace with Pieters and sign for a six-under-par 66.
Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick, who is currently in possession of the last automatic European spot for the Ryder Cup matches that start at Hazeltine next month, settled for his second three-under-par effort of 69 in row to sit in a six-way tie for third.
Fitzpatrick's compatriot Andy Sullivan, the highest-ranked player in the field, struggled to a one-over-par 73 and missed the cut on plus four overall.
Former world number one Lee Westwood is eight shots off the pace on two under par.
August 19, 2016
Ryan Evans shot a 6-under 66 to take the first round lead at the Czech Masters on Thursday.
The 29-year-old Englishman, who is seeking his first European Tour title, birdied the 18th to finish one stroke ahead of defending champion Thomas Pieters of Belgium and Peter Hanson of Sweden at the Albatross Golf Resort near Prague.
''There's a first time for everything,'' Evans said. ''I'm not going to think about it too much tomorrow, I'm just going to stick to the game plan.''
Coming off a fourth-place finish at the Olympic course in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, Pieters opened with four birdies on the back nine and surged to a 7 under after two straight birdies on the fifth and sixth holes. But he fell back after a double bogey on the eighth.
''I'm little disappointed how I finished. But all in all it's a good score,'' Pieters said.
Hanson, who produced a flawless round with five birdies, said: ''I'm very happy with my game, it felt solid today.''
A group of seven - Craig Lee and Scott Jamieson of Scotland, Jeff Winther of Denmark, Welshman Bradley Dredge, England's Robert Coles and Graeme Storm, and Swede Robert Karlsson - was one stroke back after carding 68.
Englishman Lee Westwood, who hopes to be a wildcard pick for the European Ryder Cup team, shot 70.
Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick, who is currently in the last spot for the automatic Ryder Cup qualifying, finished with a 3-under 69.
His fellow countryman Andy Sullivan, who is also contention for the matchup against the United States at Hazeltine, ended the round with four bogeys and a double-bogey for a disappointing 3-over 75.
| 1 | USA | Paul Peterson | -15 | - | 72 | 70 | 64 | 67 | 273 |
| 2 | BEL | Thomas Pieters | -14 | - | 67 | 67 | 70 | 70 | 274 |
| T3 | ENG | Ryan Evans | -11 | - | 66 | 73 | 70 | 68 | 277 |
| T3 | ENG | David Howell | -11 | - | 70 | 68 | 71 | 68 | 277 |
| 5 | ENG | Matthew Fitzpatrick | -10 | - | 69 | 69 | 71 | 69 | 278 |
| 6 | USA | David Lipsky | -9 | - | 71 | 70 | 68 | 70 | 279 |
| T7 | ENG | Gary Boyd | -8 | - | 72 | 73 | 66 | 69 | 280 |
| T7 | SWE | Robert Karlsson | -8 | - | 68 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 280 |
| T7 | ENG | Robert Rock | -8 | - | 72 | 70 | 65 | 73 | 280 |
| T7 | ENG | Graeme Storm | -8 | - | 68 | 72 | 68 | 72 | 280 |
| T11 | ENG | Steven Brown | -7 | - | 69 | 69 | 73 | 70 | 281 |
| T11 | ENG | Mark Foster | -7 | - | 72 | 70 | 69 | 70 | 281 |
| T11 | DNK | Joachim B Hansen | -7 | - | 77 | 68 | 67 | 69 | 281 |
| T11 | RSA | Justin Walters | -7 | - | 72 | 71 | 69 | 69 | 281 |
| T11 | SCO | Marc Warren | -7 | - | 71 | 68 | 72 | 70 | 281 |
| T16 | IRL | Paul Dunne | -6 | - | 72 | 71 | 70 | 69 | 282 |
| T16 | ENG | Tommy Fleetwood | -6 | - | 70 | 68 | 74 | 70 | 282 |
| T16 | SWE | Oscar Stark | -6 | - | 71 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 282 |
| T19 | ENG | Seve Benson | -5 | - | 75 | 70 | 69 | 69 | 283 |
| T19 | SWE | Peter Hanson | -5 | - | 67 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 283 |
| T19 | USA | Chase Koepka | -5 | - | 74 | 71 | 71 | 67 | 283 |
| T19 | SCO | Craig Lee | -5 | - | 68 | 71 | 75 | 69 | 283 |
| T19 | SWE | Mikael Lundberg | -5 | - | 71 | 72 | 68 | 72 | 283 |
| T19 | AUS | Brett Rumford | -5 | - | 70 | 72 | 68 | 73 | 283 |
| T19 | RSA | Rory Sabbatini | -5 | - | 72 | 72 | 69 | 70 | 283 |
| T19 | RSA | Jaco Van Zyl | -5 | - | 75 | 68 | 70 | 70 | 283 |
| T27 | ENG | Richard Bland | -4 | - | 72 | 72 | 71 | 69 | 284 |
| T27 | ENG | Charlie Ford | -4 | - | 73 | 70 | 66 | 75 | 284 |
| T27 | ENG | Matt Ford | -4 | - | 70 | 71 | 71 | 72 | 284 |
| T27 | SCO | Scott Jamieson | -4 | - | 68 | 73 | 71 | 72 | 284 |
| T27 | ENG | Tom Lewis | -4 | - | 72 | 73 | 67 | 72 | 284 |
| T27 | ITA | Renato Paratore | -4 | - | 70 | 73 | 71 | 70 | 284 |
| T27 | ENG | Lee Westwood | -4 | - | 70 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 284 |
| T27 | SWE | Jeff Winther | -4 | - | 68 | 66 | 73 | 77 | 284 |
| T35 | ENG | Matthew Baldwin | -3 | - | 71 | 74 | 71 | 69 | 285 |
| T35 | ITA | Nino Bertasio | -3 | - | 72 | 71 | 69 | 73 | 285 |
| T35 | RSA | Dean Burmester | -3 | - | 69 | 74 | 71 | 71 | 285 |
| T35 | ENG | Laurie Canter | -3 | - | 70 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 285 |
| T35 | GER | Florian Fritsch | -3 | - | 69 | 71 | 71 | 74 | 285 |
| T35 | USA | Daniel Im | -3 | - | 72 | 67 | 72 | 74 | 285 |
| T35 | SCO | Paul Lawrie | -3 | - | 69 | 76 | 72 | 68 | 285 |
| T35 | SCO | Andrew McArthur | -3 | - | 73 | 70 | 69 | 73 | 285 |
| T35 | ENG | Richard McEvoy | -3 | - | 72 | 67 | 72 | 74 | 285 |
| T35 | AUS | Terry Pilkadaris | -3 | - | 71 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 285 |
| T35 | ENG | James Robinson | -3 | - | 74 | 70 | 68 | 73 | 285 |
| T35 | AUS | Jason Scrivener | -3 | - | 72 | 73 | 70 | 70 | 285 |
| T47 | WAL | Bradley Dredge | -2 | - | 68 | 74 | 71 | 73 | 286 |
| T47 | AUS | Daniel Gaunt | -2 | - | 69 | 71 | 72 | 74 | 286 |
| T47 | ENG | David Horsey | -2 | - | 72 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 286 |
| T47 | RSA | Darryn Lloyd | -2 | - | 73 | 70 | 73 | 70 | 286 |
| T51 | USA | John Daly | -1 | - | 69 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 287 |
| T51 | ENG | Ben Evans | -1 | - | 70 | 72 | 72 | 73 | 287 |
| T51 | SWE | Niclas Fasth | -1 | - | 73 | 68 | 72 | 74 | 287 |
| T51 | RSA | Jbe Kruger | -1 | - | 72 | 72 | 71 | 72 | 287 |
| T51 | RSA | Zander Lombard | -1 | - | 74 | 70 | 72 | 71 | 287 |
| T51 | WAL | Stuart Manley | -1 | - | 73 | 71 | 70 | 73 | 287 |
| T51 | ITA | Edoardo Molinari | -1 | - | 70 | 73 | 75 | 69 | 287 |
| T51 | ENG | Jack Senior | -1 | - | 72 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 287 |
| T51 | ENG | Callum Shinkwin | -1 | - | 75 | 68 | 70 | 74 | 287 |
| T51 | IND | Jeev Milkha Singh | -1 | - | 73 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 287 |
| T51 | RSA | Ulrich Van den Berg | -1 | - | 73 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 287 |
| T62 | FRA | Clement Berardo | Par | - | 73 | 72 | 68 | 75 | 288 |
| T62 | ENG | Daniel Brooks | Par | - | 74 | 70 | 72 | 72 | 288 |
| T62 | SCO | David Drysdale | Par | - | 73 | 72 | 71 | 72 | 288 |
| T62 | DEN | Anders Hansen | Par | - | 74 | 71 | 70 | 73 | 288 |
| T62 | FIN | Mikko Korhonen | Par | - | 71 | 73 | 72 | 72 | 288 |
| T62 | CZE | Filip Mruzek | Par | - | 73 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 288 |
| T68 | ENG | Robert Coles | 1 | - | 68 | 77 | 69 | 75 | 289 |
| T68 | ENG | Oliver Fisher | 1 | - | 69 | 72 | 79 | 69 | 289 |
| T68 | ARG | Estanislao Goya | 1 | - | 70 | 73 | 72 | 74 | 289 |
| T68 | GER | Maximilian Kieffer | 1 | - | 72 | 73 | 75 | 69 | 289 |
| T68 | ITA | Nicolo Ravano | 1 | - | 73 | 72 | 73 | 71 | 289 |
| T73 | DNK | Lasse Jensen | 2 | - | 72 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 290 |
| T73 | ESP | Carlos Pigem | 2 | - | 70 | 73 | 71 | 76 | 290 |
| 75 | ENG | Oliver Wilson | 3 | - | 72 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 291 |
| T76 | ENG | David Dixon | 4 | - | 74 | 71 | 75 | 72 | 292 |
| T76 | ENG | Kenneth Ferrie | 4 | - | 73 | 71 | 71 | 77 | 292 |
| T76 | ENG | Chris Hanson | 4 | - | 74 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 292 |
| T76 | BEL | Hugues Jr Joannes | 4 | - | 71 | 74 | 71 | 76 | 292 |
| T76 | AUT | Lukas Nemecz | 4 | - | 71 | 72 | 72 | 77 | 292 |
| 81 | SCO | David Law | 5 | - | 71 | 74 | 72 | 76 | 293 |
| 82 | ESP | Carlos Del-Moral | 6 | - | 69 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 294 |
| T83 | ESP | Nacho Elvira | 7 | - | 74 | 71 | 67 | 83 | 295 |
| T83 | FRA | Gary Stal | 7 | - | 71 | 73 | 76 | 75 | 295 |
| 156 | CZE | David Siwy | 21 | - | 82 | 83 | - | - | 165 |
| CUT | DNK | Lucas Bjerregaard | 2 | - | 76 | 70 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | ENG | James Busby | 2 | - | 69 | 77 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | CZE | Jan Carourek | 2 | - | 73 | 73 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | SWE | Jens Fahbring | 2 | - | 74 | 72 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | CZE | Petr Gal JR | 2 | - | 75 | 71 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | SWE | Steven Jeppesen | 2 | - | 72 | 74 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | IRL | Peter Lawrie | 2 | - | 73 | 73 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | CZE | Daniel Suchan | 2 | - | 71 | 75 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | CZE | Jiri Zuska | 2 | - | 73 | 73 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | SWE | Pelle Edberg | 3 | - | 74 | 73 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | ENG | Daniel Gavins | 3 | - | 73 | 74 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | RSA | Jean Hugo | 3 | - | 75 | 72 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | FRA | Thomas Linard | 3 | - | 70 | 77 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | FRA | Michael Lorenzo-Vera | 3 | - | 74 | 73 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | ENG | Chris Paisley | 3 | - | 75 | 72 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | DNK | Mads Sogaard | 3 | - | 74 | 73 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | ENG | Matthew Southgate | 3 | - | 73 | 74 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | RSA | Jacques Blaauw | 4 | - | 76 | 72 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ITA | Marco Crespi | 4 | - | 76 | 72 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ITA | Matteo Delpodio | 4 | - | 75 | 73 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ENG | Robert Dinwiddie | 4 | - | 72 | 76 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ENG | Simon Dyson | 4 | - | 71 | 77 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | - | Scott Fernandez | 4 | - | 75 | 73 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | - | Jan Friesz | 4 | - | 77 | 71 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | USA | Jason Knutzon | 4 | - | 74 | 74 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ITA | Francesco Laporta | 4 | - | 79 | 69 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ENG | Ross McGowan | 4 | - | 75 | 73 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ENG | John Parry | 4 | - | 77 | 71 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ENG | Eddie Pepperell | 4 | - | 77 | 71 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ITA | Andrea Perrino | 4 | - | 74 | 74 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | SCO | Paul Shields | 4 | - | 72 | 76 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ENG | Lee Slattery | 4 | - | 72 | 76 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ENG | Andrew Sullivan | 4 | - | 75 | 73 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | CZE | Lukas Tintera | 4 | - | 76 | 72 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ESP | Borja Virto | 4 | - | 74 | 74 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | SWE | Gabriel Axell | 5 | - | 74 | 75 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | WAL | Rhys Davies | 5 | - | 75 | 74 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | SWE | Johan Edfors | 5 | - | 72 | 77 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | AUT | Robin Goger | 5 | - | 75 | 74 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | SWE | Michael Jonzon | 5 | - | 73 | 76 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | SCO | George Murray | 5 | - | 74 | 75 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | ESP | Pedro Oriol | 5 | - | 74 | 75 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | RSA | Jake Roos | 5 | - | 74 | 75 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | NOR | Mathias Schjoelberg | 5 | - | 77 | 72 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | RSA | Richard Sterne | 5 | - | 75 | 74 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | - | Michal Brezovsky | 6 | - | 74 | 76 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | WAL | Jamie Donaldson | 6 | - | 78 | 72 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | CZE | Vitek Novak | 6 | - | 76 | 74 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | ESP | Adrian Otaegui | 6 | - | 74 | 76 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | RSA | Michael G Palmer | 6 | - | 76 | 74 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | - | Petr Valasek | 6 | - | 77 | 73 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | SCO | Peter Whiteford | 6 | - | 74 | 76 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | CZE | Simon Zach | 6 | - | 73 | 77 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | ESP | Javier Colomo | 7 | - | 77 | 74 | - | - | 151 |
| CUT | RSA | Haydn Porteous | 7 | - | 78 | 73 | - | - | 151 |
| CUT | ENG | Josh Loughrey | 8 | - | 76 | 76 | - | - | 152 |
| CUT | ENG | Steve Webster | 8 | - | 78 | 74 | - | - | 152 |
| CUT | ENG | Joshua White | 8 | - | 82 | 70 | - | - | 152 |
| CUT | SWE | Bjorn Akesson | 9 | - | 77 | 76 | - | - | 153 |
| CUT | ENG | Tom Murray | 9 | - | 74 | 79 | - | - | 153 |
| CUT | DEN | Thomas Bjorn | 10 | - | 75 | 79 | - | - | 154 |
| CUT | IND | Shiv Kapur | 10 | - | 80 | 74 | - | - | 154 |
| CUT | AUS | Dimi Papadatos | 10 | - | 74 | 80 | - | - | 154 |
| CUT | RSA | Tjaart Van Der Walt | 10 | - | 74 | 80 | - | - | 154 |
| CUT | KOR | Jin Jeong | 11 | - | 78 | 77 | - | - | 155 |
| CUT | SWE | Joel Sjoholm | 11 | - | 78 | 77 | - | - | 155 |
| CUT | CZE | Petr Dedek | 13 | - | 80 | 77 | - | - | 157 |
| CUT | FRA | Edouard Espana | 13 | - | 73 | 84 | - | - | 157 |
| CUT | CZE | Ales Korinek | 14 | - | 71 | 87 | - | - | 158 |
| CUT | SCO | Jamie McLeary | 15 | - | 82 | 77 | - | - | 159 |
| CUT | NIR | Cormac Sharvin | 15 | - | 77 | 82 | - | - | 159 |
