Winners of the Race to Dubai and Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

Brooks Koepka held off a spirited challenge from Ian Poulter to win the Turkish Airlines Open which enabled Rory McIlroy to win the Race to Dubai for the second time in three years.

Brooks Koepka held off a spirited challenge from Ian Poulter to win the Turkish Airlines Open which enabled Rory McIlroy to win the Race to Dubai for the second time in three years. With this win, Koepka moves into the top 35 on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Going into the Turkish Airlines Open, only Jamie Donaldson, Sergio Garcia and Marcel Siem had a mathematical chance of preventing McIlroy being crowned European Tour Number 1 for 2014, but all three had to win in Antalya to have a chance.

Koepka, who won three times on the Challenge Tour last year to gain instant promotion to The European Tour, played spectacularly through the closing rounds of the tournament. Despite a strong challenge from Poulter, which came down to the 18th hole, Koepka was able to hold onto the top spot and claim his first European Tour Title in Antalya.

โ€œThis is definitely the highlight of my career so far, to win here is special. Iโ€™ve been knocking on the door for a while now and itโ€™s great to finally break through.โ€ Said Koepka.

The Americanโ€™s victory comes in his first appearance at the Turkish Airlines Open. And for the second consecutive year running, the Turkish Airlines Open has witnessed a first time winner. Koepkaโ€™s victory follows on from the success of inaugural winner Victor Dubuisson in 2013, and shows that the tournament is fast becoming a pivotal event in the European Tour calendar for emerging talent to prove itself at.

Turkish Airlines Open also witnessed the 600th European Tour Event of Colin Montgomerie. He described being able to play his 600th European Tour event on a course bearing his name (The Montgomerie Maxx Royal ) as โ€œamazingโ€ ahead of the Turkish Airlines Open.

โ€œIt’s a delight and a real honour to join an illustrious group that have reached 600 – the ones that have done it have been very fortunate in many ways to be healthy for that length of time to achieve that. But when you think it’s 30 tournaments for 20 years in a row, it’s a lot and it’s a long walk.โ€

Turkish Airlines Open also witnessed the retirement of Robert-Jan Derksen of Holland. He played his final round on the European Tour in Turkey and retired from professional golf after an 18-year career. He played in 394 European Tour events and won twice.

โ€œItโ€™s been a fantastic 18 years. I had my share of good fortune and wins,โ€ he said. โ€œI feel itโ€™s time for a change, and that change might mean something else in golf, or it might not mean something in golf at all. But Iโ€™m sure it will be something good, and Iโ€™m already looking forward to the next stage of my life.โ€

Turkish Airlines are delighted with the staging of the event in the region of Antalya. After the huge success of last yearsโ€™ event, almost 30 players came to Antalya with their families and enjoyed the sun and sea.

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods played together in Turkish Airlines World Golf Final in 2012, in Antalya.

The top 60 players in the rankings traveled to the United Arab Emirates for the DP World Tour Championship with a private Turkish Airlines flight with B777, the final event of the European Tour season.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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