Staff WriterIn a week where the Czech skies finally caught a glimpse of American sunshine, Palmer Jackson delivered a scorching performance at the Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge to seal his first professional win—and he did it with the grace of a ballroom dancer and the brutality of a street fighter.
The 24-year-old from the United States didn’t just win at Golf Resort Kaskáda—he demolished the field.
Firing a nerveless seven-under 64 on Sunday, Jackson reached 21-under par for the week and strolled to a six-shot victory in the latest stop on the HotelPlanner Tour.
Hong Kong’s Matthew Cheung and Sweden’s Tobias Jonsson could only manage a shared silver, finishing six adrift in a different postcode.
Coming into the final round tied at the top with England’s Joshua Berry, Jackson wasted no time pulling away.
Birdies at three of his first four holes set the tone. A pesky bogey at the fifth barely registered before he uncorked an eagle on the drivable seventh and added another red number at nine. From there, it was cruise control all the way to the trophy stand.
“I didn’t really let myself feel anything until the last putt went in and when it did it was one of the best feelings of my life,” Jackson said, no doubt speaking for anyone who’s ever dreamed of turning promise into proof.
While others around him were trying to find the accelerator, Jackson had already floored it.
“I was just trying to take it one shot at a time. I wanted to get to 20 under and I knew that number would win at the end of the day. Each hole was a battle, and I wanted to try and stay present,” he added.
The Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge may not have had the fanfare of a major, but the way Jackson played it, you’d think the green jacket was waiting at the finish line.
Even with the likes of Cheung and Jonsson making solid charges, Jackson simply refused to blink.
“I knew with the way the leaderboard was somebody was going to have to go out and probably win this,” he said.
“Being in the lead is something I’ve experienced before in different tournaments but it’s so difficult to get a win over the line.
I knew unless someone was doing something crazy, I was probably in the lead, and it was about making as many birdies as I could.”
For context, this wasn’t some fairytale build-up. Jackson landed in Brno off the back of two missed cuts and with his confidence holding on by a thread.
By Sunday evening, he’d leapfrogged 142 places in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, moving into 15th and well within range of a DP World Tour promotion.
“It’s definitely a boost,” he admitted. “To this point I was not playing well. I know what my standards are, and I wasn’t reaching them. This week might have succeeded them, and I am so grateful to have won this event.”
It was a poignant victory for Jackson, too. With the final round falling on Father’s Day back in the States, the moment wasn’t lost on the young American.
“It’s obviously Father’s Day out in the USA and he’s a big influence for me. My mum has been battling some health problems recently and she told me to win a tournament for her, and I am glad I did.”
Behind the champion, the pack shuffled. Cheung and Jonsson shared second at 15-under.
Czech local Filip Mruzek finished solo fourth, while a three-way tie for fifth included Denmark’s Christian Jacobsen, Spain’s Sebastian Garcia, and England’s Will Enefer.
Elsewhere, two-time HotelPlanner Tour winner Renato Paratore made a quiet charge into the top 30 and now leads the Road to Mallorca Rankings, bumping South African Daniel van Tonder to second.
Despite a disappointing final round 74, Joshua Berry remains third, while Jamie Rutherford’s consistency edges him up to fourth.
As for what’s next, the tour packs up its circus tents and heads west to France. The Blot Play9 tees off June 19-22 at Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André, where the race to Mallorca—and the next career-making moment—continues.
But for now, the Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge belongs to Palmer Jackson: the man who turned missed cuts into a masterpiece.
