A four-week break helped a refreshed Gavin Green to the first round lead in the D+D Real Czech Masters at Albatross Golf Resort in Prague, as the Malaysian continued his quest for a maiden European Tour title.
The 25-year-old took a long break from the tour after missing the cut in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and is in high spirits as he aims to make history by becoming the first Malaysian to win on the European Tour. The missed cut in Scotland aside, Green has been in fine form recently with three top-1os in his last five starts.
“I’ve been enjoying myself at home the last few weeks … eating a lot, sleeping a lot and driving my car – just being a regular person as opposed to practising all the time,” said Green. “I didn’t practise for two weeks so it was a complete shut down, just enjoying life.
Last year, Green also shot an opening 64 in this event and took the halfway lead with a tournament 36-hole record of 12-under-par. He went on to finish third.
“I don’t know what it is about this place … I think the course suits me well and it helps if you hit it a little longer and a little higher,” noted the long-hitting player, the first Malaysian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2017. “It helps to be able to stop the ball on the greens. If you get a good drive away, you just have a wedge in your hand and you can take advantage of that.”
Green is currently in 58th place on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings and a win or strong finish here would go a long way towards sealing his place in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. The top 5o players in the standings earn starts in the US$8 million event at Jumeirah Golf Estates this November, with the winner earning the richest prize in tournament golf – a cheque for US$3 million.
