ISTANBUL, Nov. 2, 2016
/PRNewswire/ -- The fourth Turkish Airlines Open will get underway
this Thursday 3rd November at the Regnum Carya Golf and
Spa Resort, Antalya.
Masters champion Danny Willett is
among the 78-man field playing for an incredible $7 million prize fund and crucial points in the
Race to Dubai.
Englishman Willett, 29, is currently second in The Race to
Dubai standings, ahead of the
first of three European Tour 'Final Series' tournaments. Also in
the field at this week's Turkish Airlines Open are Ryder Cup
contestants, Lee Westwood and
Andy Sullivan.
Willett said; "The Final Series is starting with a great event
here in Turkey. I've had a couple
of nice results down here at the Turkish Airlines Open before and
it's lovely to be here. The hotel is great, Turkish Airlines is a
brilliant sponsor and this is a beautiful place to play golf. We're
set for a really good week."
Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey's
Minister of Foreign Affairs, was in Antalya as well to attend and
honour the tournament launch.
Having started their sponsorship of top-level golf at the World
Golf Final in 2012, Turkish Airlines has embraced the sport across
the board and hope to extend their agreement to host the European
Tour tournament, which will run for another two years.
A host of key players flew into the resort on a Turkish Airlines
flight from Shanghai and Turkish
Airlines charter flight from Gatwick and they are settling in to
the Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort, which is playing host to the
tournament for the very first time.
Westwood is playing in Turkey
for the fifth time, having also played at the Turkish Airlines
World Golf Final in 2012, and is truly impressed with the set-up at
the Regnum. He said; "It is great to be back in Turkey and we're all looking forward to the
week ahead. The course looks in fantastic condition and I've heard
so many good things about it. I've always really enjoyed my time in
Belek and it's going to be another brilliant week.
Asked about his level of comfort in Turkey, Westwood added; "I played with
(European Tour chief executive) Keith
Pelley in the pro-am in China last week. He asked me my opinion also
and I had no fears about coming to Turkey. The world we live in, anything can
happen anywhere and Turkey is no
different to anywhere else. I had no security worries. People are
very welcoming and there are many international media members here
so you haven't got fears. I'm just here looking forward to playing
golf in a big tournament and we'll be focusing on that. Nothing
else is fazing me. I'm really looking forward to the tournament. I
always look forward to Turkey.
It's my fifth trip here and everyone fantastic. Istanbul is great and Antalya is fantastic.
The weather is always beautiful and courses are great. TA is a
great sponsor, it's a great tournament down here and all players
enjoy getting down here and playing."
Westwood joked that he has also been eating plenty of ice cream
at the Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort. "I'm on a diet at the
moment but if I wasn't I would recommend the chocolate with the
choc chip!" he said.
On Monday, German star Marcel
Siem secured a hole in one on the eighth hole during
practice – but was three days too early to win one million Turkish
Airlines miles. Said Siem; "It was a good start to the week. I hit
a six iron and it was a bit of a lucky bounce back and went in. I
hope that this luck repeats itself and I can do it again on
Thursday or Friday!"
The 2014 Turkish Airlines Open was won by American star
Brooks Koepka, just after the French
star Victor Dubuisson' win in the
2013 Turkish Airlines Open. Dubuisson was winner of the tournament
in both 2013 and 2015, and will compete on the field once again, in
Antalya this year.
The airline is also behind the largest amateur tournament in the
world, The Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup, which will come to a
conclusion in Belek this week. With around 100 players, reduced
from an initial 7,500 across the globe, competing in the Grand
Final for the title. Turkish Airlines also supports the 'Challenge
Tour' golf event and is a keen supporter of women's golf, with
all golfers able to take their golf clubs for free. The
airline was also chosen as 'Europe's Best Airline' for the sixth year
in-a-row by Skytrax and flies to more countries and also
international destinations than any other airline.
Senior Vice President Corporate Communications of Turkish
Airlines, Ms. Seda Kalyoncu said;
"Golf is a premium, global sport and Turkish Airlines is proud to
be a part of such a prestigious tournament. We are a perfect fit
with golf and look forward to our relationship with the sport, at
every level, continuing to flourish. The excitement around this
tournament has been building across Turkey and we cannot wait for the first
players to tee off for what is sure to be another incredible week
of golf. We wish the best of luck to all of the players competing
at the Turkish Airlines Open."
Turkish Golf Federation president Ahmet Ağaoğlu said; "It is
going to be a thrilling week in Antalya. We have been looking
forward to this for a whole year and I'm sure this will be our most
exciting Turkish Airlines Open yet."
Following this week's tournament in Antalya, the tour will head
to the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South
Africa ahead of the season finale DP World Tour Championship
in Dubai.
Turkish Airlines Inc.
Office of Media Relations
General Management Building
34149, Yesilkoy-Istanbul
Tel: +90-(212)-463-63-63 Ext. 11173-11153
Fax: +90-(212)-465-20-78
press@thy.com
Watch the Video:
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About Turkish Airlines:
Established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, Star Alliance
member Turkish Airlines is a 4-star airline today with a fleet of
335 (passenger and cargo) aircraft flying to
292 destinations worldwide with 243 international and 49
domestic. According to the 2016 Skytrax survey, Turkish Airlines
was chosen as "Europe's Best
Airline" for the sixth and "Best Airline in Southern Europe" for the eighth
consecutive time. Having won in 2010 the world's "Best Economy
Catering Service", in 2013 and also in 2014 the world's
"Best Business Catering Service", and "Best Business
Class Lounge Dining", "Best Business Airline Lounge"
awards in last year's survey, Turkish Airlines was awarded again
the world's "Best Business Class Dining Lounge" and "Best
Business Class On-Board Catering" prizes in this year's survey.
More information about Turkish Airlines can be found on its
official website www.turkishairlines.com or its social media
accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin,
and Instagram.
About the Turkish Golf Federation:
The Turkish Golf Federation (TGF) was established in 1996 and
offers a range of national and international tournaments each year.
This is the fourth year TGF has promoted the Turkish Airlines Open
and it also put on the Turkish Airlines World Golf Final and the
World Amateur Team Championship in 2012. The key aim of the TGF is
the development of golf in Turkey,
including the offer of a free golf programme for Turkish citizens.
For more information, please visit: www.tgf.org.tr
About Star Alliance:
The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first
truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition
and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance
by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the
Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline
Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The
member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada,
Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines,
Austrian, Avianca, Avianca Brazil, Brussels Airlines, Copa
Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air,
LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen
Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP
Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. Overall, the Star
Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to
1,330 airports in 192 countries.
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SOURCE Turkish Airlines