The Penati Slovak Open enters its tenth anniversary year in 2026. Since the first tournament in 2017 it has come a long way — from a two-round Slovak Championship Open with €10,000 in prize money to an international professional tournament with a €30,000 prize fund, a livestream, a children’s Chip & Putt competition, and now its own mobile application.
When the first Slovak Championship Open was played in September 2017 on the Heritage Course at Penati Golf Resort, nobody knew what history the tournament would go on to make.
The first winner was Czech professional Petr Nič, who took the title at ten under par and set a new course record in the process. The tournament was played over two rounds for a purse of €10,000.
Every year since has written its own chapter. The winners have changed, so have the format, the prize money, and the ways fans can follow the action out on the course.
One player, ten years
Few stories capture that better than Ondřej Lieser’s. He has been there from the very beginning, and he is one of the players who has shaped the tournament’s history. In 2019 he went toe to toe with Rory Sabbatini in a duel that ran all the way to a play-off on the 18th. A year later he went one better and won, collecting what was then the largest cheque in the tournament’s history at €10,000.
Lieser has stayed loyal to Penati ever since — including in 2025, when he finished a single shot behind champion Adam Puchmelter.
It is stories like these that make the Penati Slovak Open more than just another date on the calendar. Every edition has brought its own name, its own contest and its own memory. But today the tournament’s history is about far more than results alone.
Ten years of getting closer to the fans
The Penati Slovak Open has steadily changed the way it talks to players and to supporters. Online scoring, a livestream and digital media content all followed. The tournament was not interrupted even through the Covid period, and electronic scorecards, online results, start lists and an electronic Hard Card were all introduced. With the help of technology partners Konica Minolta and Orange Business, the broadcast launched on the official YouTube channel and the coverage went global.
For the tenth anniversary, the organisers are keen that the new app is not seen as a piece of technology for its own sake. The aim is simple: gather everything about the tournament in one place and put it as close as possible to the players and the fans.
The app carries tee times, the tournament programme, a live leaderboard, the livestream, news and important notifications.
A player can check their tee time or the latest information before they even arrive at Penati. A fan no longer has to be standing at the 18th to know what is happening out on the course. You do not have to be at Penati to be part of the Penati Slovak Open. All you need is a phone.
From the professionals to the youngest
Perhaps even more telling than the app itself is how the tournament has connected with the next generation.
The Chip & Putt Slovak Open was created in 2022 as part of the golf festival that surrounds Penati Slovak Open week. It is for children under the age of ten and is played on the practice grounds at Penati Golf Resort.
The first winner, in 2022, was Tereza Hájková, ahead of Danny Dědek and Nick Sciranka.
The children’s tournament has found a permanent place in the Penati Slovak Open programme ever since. What began as a one-off has become a tradition, and one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole golf week. On one side of the resort, professionals compete for the title and €10,000; on the other, children who may only just be starting out.
In this anniversary year the two worlds come a little closer together. For the first time, the Chip & Putt will be streamed live — directly through the Penati Slovak Open App.
The 2026 Chip & Putt, which takes place on Sunday 6 September, is supported by the Ryder Cup European Development Trust as part of its work backing grassroots golf across Europe.
It may look like a small children’s tournament today. But in a few years it might be worth looking back and saying: “That player started right here.”
Ten years of history — and another chapter ahead
The Penati Slovak Open began in 2017, and every year since has made history: from Petr Nič to Filip Mrůzek, Rory Sabbatini and Ondřej Lieser, through to the most recent champion, Adam Puchmelter.
In 2025 the tournament was played over three rounds for the first time, entered the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and continued as part of the CPG International Series.
The tenth anniversary edition arrives in September 2026, and Rory Sabbatini — the 2019 champion — will be in the field, returning to the scene of that memorable duel with Ondřej Lieser.
With it comes another entry in the record books. The tenth edition. The tenth champion. The largest prize fund in the tournament’s history. And, for the first time, an official mobile app.
The app is not the goal in itself. It is simply another way of bringing the Penati Slovak Open closer to people — to the players who need to know when they tee off, to the fans who want to follow the results, and to everyone who cannot be at Penati but does not want to miss the action.
Penati Slovak Open App — the whole tournament on your phone.
This article was originally published by the PGA of Slovakia on golfslovakopen.sk. The Penati Slovak Open is part of the CPG International Series.
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