– The DP World Tour is celebrating the eighth edition of the Turkish Airlines Open this week. The European Tour returns to Turkey after six years of absence. It will be played for the fourth time at the Regnum Carya in Belek, on the tourist peninsula of Antalya. There are 14 Spanish players in the line-up.
– The tournament marks the start of the European Swing, consisting of six tournaments. The other five are the Soudal Open, Austrian Alpine Open, KLM Open, Italian Open, and BMW International Open.
– No Spanish player has ever won this tournament. The best position was a third place by Adrián Otaegui. The most notable absence in this edition is Pablo Larrazábal. The Barcelona golfer was the only one, along with Colin Montgomerie, to have played the previous seven editions. This year, Andy Sullivan, Joost Luiten, and Nicolas Colsaerts will reach seven.
– Jorge Campillo will play the Turkish Open for the sixth time. He is the second Spanish player with the most participations behind Larrazábal. He has the best stroke average of the Armada in the Ottoman country: 69.50. However, he has never even finished in the top ten. Those who have made the top 10 are the aforementioned Larrazábal, Otaegui, Nacho Elvira, and Miguel Ángel Jiménez. Of all of them, Jiménez was the only one who didn’t achieve it on this week’s course.
– The Regnum Carya is a luxury resort in Antalya, a region that has long had an ambitious plan to attract golf tourism. The course design, par 71, is the work of the legendary Australian player Peter Thompson. The most peculiar feature of the course is the tee of the 16th hole. You will see it a thousand times on television this week. The curiosity is that it is built on the roof of one of the hotel suites. In case you’re wondering, the room is not occupied this week.
– The 10th hole is traditionally the most difficult on the course. It is a par 5 converted to a par 4. It features a narrow tee shot, and the green is protected short and on the left by water. The 17th, 16th, 6th, and 2nd holes are also challenging.
– Nonetheless, we are talking about a resort designed for tourism, so it is not a course of maximum difficulty. In the three previous editions held at the Regnum Carya, it was won with -17, -18, and -20. So, calculate at least a daily average of four or five under par to be in the fight for victory.
– The course conditions are good. During practice days, the greens have been very receptive, and the rough around them is almost a ‘friend’. This is, of course, according to the players. It means it is cut to a height that allows relatively easy high and very controlled shots, as the club brushes under the ball without excessive problems.
– The Turkish Airlines Open has a kind of invisible link with the Ryder Cup. Beyond the fact that the captain, Luke Donald, and two of his assistants, Edoardo Molinari and Nicolas Colsaerts, are there this week, it turns out that the five players who have won the tournament at least once have played in the Ryder Cup. It’s not an easy full house to see. The champions are Justin Rose and Victor Dubuisson, twice, Thorbjorn Olesen, Brooks Koepka, and Tyrrell Hatton. There is pedigree. It is true that the tournament became a Rolex Series, which led to strong player participation in some editions.
– As you know, the core of Ryder Cup Europe leaves nothing to chance. Donald will play this week with Ángel Ayora, while Molinari will do so with Bradbury and Pulkkanen, and Colsaerts with Tarren. These are the ‘watchful eyes’ of Turkey. Again, the message is conveyed that everyone is on the radar.
– The 14 Spanish participants are: Alex del Rey, Ángel Hidalgo, Nacho Elvira, Jorge Campillo, Alfredo García Heredia, Iván Cantero, Manu Elvira, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Ángel Ayora, Joel Moscatel, Albert Boneta, Santi Tarrio, Adri Arnaus, and Sebas García Rodríguez.
– Beyond the Spanish players, here are two interesting names to follow this week. One is the Swiss Kai Notteboom. He is 15 years old, obviously an amateur, has won this year in Portugal, and started playing golf at the age of four on a trip with his family, precisely at the Regnum Carya. The other name is Elisey Antropenko. He is 17 years old and Russian. He competes without a flag, as is the case with all golfers of this nationality in the different circuits due to the sanctions imposed by the International Olympic Committee because of the invasion of Ukraine.
