Ludvig Aberg eyes a shot during the second round of the 2023 D+D Real Czech Masters. | Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images
The D+D Real Czech Masters is a big event on the DP World Tour calendar. Many European stars, including Ludvig Aberg, are playing well.
The leaderboard of the 2023 D+D Real Czech Masters is loaded with top European players through 36 holes.
Nicholai Højgaard of Denmark leads the pack at 12-under after he carded a 5-under 67 Friday to sit atop the field.
Not too far behind him is young Swedish phenom Ludvig Aberg, who, at 23 years old, is a budding star among European players.
Aberg is at 10-under after shooting a 6-under 66 Friday.
After playing collegiately at Texas Tech, Aberg finished atop the PGA Tour University rankings in 2023 to earn a spot on the tour. He made his professional debut at the RBC Canadian Open in June and has since participated in six tour events.
Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images
Ludvig Aberg lines up a putt during the second round of the 2023 D+D Real Czech Masters.
His best finish came at the John Deere Classic, where he tied for fourth.
Now he hopes to have some success on the DP World Tour this fall, before the PGA Tour ramps up again in early 2024.
Farther down the leaderboard are numerous European stars. Many are Ryder Cup hopefuls. Victor Perez of France, Yannik Paul of Germany, and Adrian Meronk of Poland all sit at 8-under. Scotsman Robert MacIntyre is also in the top 10.
There is a good chance that Captain Luke Donald—also playing in Prague this week—will select these four players for his team.
Also in the mix at the Czech Masters is Eduardo Molinari, who, along with his brother Francesco, will serve as Assistant Captains of the 2023 European Ryder Cup team at next month’s competition in Rome.
Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, and Viktor Hovland have already made the team.
2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry will likely make it too. He is also teeing it up at the Albatross Golf Resort this week. But the Irishman will miss the cut, as he sits at 2-under through 36 holes.
The projected cut is at 3-under as of this writing.
Nevertheless, at least one Irishman will represent the tri-color flag this weekend in Prague. That would be Padraig Harrington, one of the game’s most popular players. The Dubliner is at 5-under overall after carding a 4-under 68 on Friday.
So even though the Tour Championship has some of the game’s biggest stars in Atlanta this weekend, plenty of other notable players are teeing it up in Prague.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
