Andrew's Raffeisenbank Golf Challenge (HPT) Preview

Here’s my sales pitch for the Raffeisenbank Golf Challenge (formerly the Kaskada Challenge, formerly the Czech Challenge): it is on, when no other golf is. I mean, you can’t watch it live. You can’t bet it live. But, you know, it’s on. You can keep an eye on your bets. It is something to be aware of when we’re waiting for the US Open to start. As someone who loves the HotelPlanner Tour (and, once again, a different and interesting course – so unlike the monotony of the KFT) I’m looking forward to this, but I do wish they’d take advantage of their window and show these golfers on TV. Surely the DPWT production crew could send someone over?

We’re coming off another frustrating week; this is always a difficult tour, but it is particularly hard to pin down why certain players are peaking in certain weeks at the moment. Felix Mory won, and he’s someone I’ve had my eye on (and backed for FRL in Cadiz, when he was 102nd after a favourable tee time) but I didn’t see that Swiss track suiting him. Clearly I was mistaken. With another course we know pretty well, let’s hope we get lucky and can all sit back and watch the final round in Oakmont having already picked up a winner.

The Tournament

We’ve moved to Czechia and to a resort course just outside of Brno. Unlike Pennsylvania the boys on the HPT can look forward to decent weather in the build up and during the event. There’s a bit of wind on Friday but nothing much to signify. This is the fifth consecutive year that Kaskada Golf Resort has hosted this event, and the 7,072 yard par-71 has thrown up some decent winners to date, Hamish Brown last year followed Marcel Schneider, Martin Simonsen and Lorenzo Scalise into the winner’s enclosure. Four pretty different players and this isn’t an easy course to categorise.

Length is certainly a plus here, and in the mild conditions we can expect, there are a couple of drivable par-fours (the downhill 394 yard 7th and the 353 yard 10th) as well as four par-fives that should all be reachable in two shots. That said, accuracy is often critical and the fairways are pretty narrow and surrounded by penal rough. If you read many of the amateur players reviewing this course, it is a much tougher challenge even from the up tees than can often be the case at these resort tracks. The weather is a critical part of the course defenses, as you can guess from winning scores of -16, -20, -12 and -18. Despite a few changes to the course I think that we’ll see a score in the realm of -18 or better – the -12 year was in much tougher conditions.

The other unusual thing about this course is the severe elevation changes. I wasn’t kidding when I said that a 394 yard hole is often drivable (think Plantation-level downhill - and it is often downwind too.) There are lots of uneven lies, blind shots, elevated greens – all those sorts of tricks and challenges on a hilly golf course. There are a few courses worth considering for comparison – St Mellion hosted the British Challenge in 2023 and is super hilly, and Adamstal in Austria, home of the Euram Bank Challenge is also worth looking at. On the DPWT there are obvious comparisons to Crans-sur-Sierre (European Masters) and Adriatic Golf Club (2024 Italian Open.) For players with US experience, the agronomy, weather and elevation make this feel much more like a northeastern or midwestern course than anything on the west coast, and as far from Florida as golf gets! I’m really leaning on experience and skill shown on the right sort of courses, as well as current form. There isn’t an obvious statistical advantage but tee to green accuracy and length would be a great starting point.

Selections

This wasn’t easy. I am fighting the urge to include Joshua Berry every week, but his form simply isn’t good enough. Renato Paratore appeals and is obviously having a good season (and has form in the European Masters) but I couldn’t match his price to his recent form, whilst fellow Italian Filippo Celli has form in the right events but has looked very poor on his last few starts. I toyed with a few at bigger prices including Marc Warren who has patches of form at similar courses (and did well here last year when in rancid form,) and Matt Oshrine who showed plenty last week and might find echoes of classical courses in his native Maryland here. I also thought long and hard about Nate’s favourite, Lukas Nemecz, but in the end I had a list of three that I was very happy with at the prices.

First of them is former winner Lorenzo Scalise, who took this in difficult conditions in 2023. He was previously second in 2021 and 13th in 2022. He has decent form in the Euram Bank as well, and his best result in a tough year on the DPWT last year came at the tight, classical Muthiaga in Kenya. This is a very clear horses for courses pick, and I’m encouraged that he’s returning to form in advance of this event, with his second top 20 of the season last week. Surprisingly ranked just 73rd, he needs a significant uptick in form to regain his DPWT card and he’s entering the section of the season where he’ll be expecting to win his points. I think he takes a massive leap forward this week.

Second, I’m going back to the well with Albin Bergstrom. The big Swede has limited form on the HPT but he was 23rd here in 2023 (didn’t play this last year.) In the same year he was eighth at Adamstal and 17th at St Mellion. A much better golfer now, he’s made 5/6 cuts on the HPT but is yet to really make some noise. This technical test and driving focus will suit him. 

My third and final pick is a man I’ve been waiting to pick all season, Herman Wibe Sekne. You’d struggle to find a player on this tour who was this good as an amateur this recently – and certainly that’s true at the prices. He was 14th ranked in the world in 2023, and was All-American (third team, but still) at Purdue. He turned pro this time last year and his results have been distinctly ordinary. He’s played better in Latin America, with two top 20's on the PGA Tour of the Americas, but over here he’s made 3/6 cuts with a best finish of 60. However, I’m obviously keen on his talent. I’m also keen on the course fit – fifth at Euram Bank last year is a great fit, and so are some of the courses where he shone in college (third at Erin Hills, a winner at Sunset Ridge, etc) and whilst he hasn’t been in extraordinary form, he showed enough last week – 29th after 54 holes before fading in the final round – for me to be willing to take a chance at a huge price.

• Lorenzo Scalise, 30/1

• Albin Bergstrom, 45/1

• Herman Wibe Sekne, 225/1

All are 1pt e/w, 1/4 odds 5 places, Bet365. I'm not sure better prices will emerge, but they may, if you're more patient than me.