The DP World Tour begins the European Swing this week when the Turkish Airlines Open returns to the schedule after a six-year hiatus. This is the first of six tournaments which make up this part of the season and offer avenues to the big events later in the campaign.
Tyrrell Hatton was the last winner of this tournament in 2019 but since then he has joined the LIV Tour and as such he will not be in the field to attempt to defend the title but a relatively competitive set of players will be as they look to take the crown.
Recent Winners
2019 – Tyrrell Hatton
2018 – Justin Rose
2017 – Justin Rose
2016 – Thorbjorn Olesen
2015 – Victor Dubuisson
2014 – Brooks Koepka
2013 – Victor Dubuisson
The Course
The tournament is back and it returns to the course which hosted it between 2016 and 2018 in the shape of the Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort in Antalya in Turkey. The course is famous for the tee shot at the 16th hole being off a rooftop and generally provides some decent golf. The track is a par 71 which stretches to 7,220 yards in full so it isn’t overly long by the modern standards of professional golf and the fact it is a resort course we can expect the scoring to be low.
The fairways on this track are treelined but there is a fair amount of room for drives to find. The key to this golf course is not hitting the greens because they are very much on the large side but hitting the right places on them because they are undulating and fast. We are very much looking at players who excel with the irons shots this week but confident putters on these fast greens which naturally provide a number of those awkward range putts should come to the fore too.
The Field
With the second major of the year just a week away I would be surprised if anyone involved in this tournament expected to attract the star names even to a place which is wonderful for a week. They haven’t done that and as such we have no player in the top 100 in the world rankings here. The highest ranked player in the field is John Parry who sits at 108 so this week is probably more about the Race to Dubai standings.
Three members of the top 10 are here with Parry being the highest ranked at number four ahead of Haotong Li who is ranked eight and Jacques Kruyswijk who is at nine. Six members of the top 20 are in the field too with the winner of the Hainan Classic, Marco Penge one of those with Johannes Veerman, Dylan Naidoo, Richard Mansell, Calum Hill and Alejandro Del Rey all looking to move further up the standings with a decent week here.
Market Leaders
Haotong Li is in the field this week and even though he isn’t the highest ranked player in it, he is the 16/1 favourite to come out on top. He was favourite for the two Chinese events which concluded the previous swing and he didn’t get the job done so it will be interesting to see whether being away from home soil will allow his best golf to come out and he can get the job done. He certainly has the talent but I’m not sure he’s as much of a standout in this field as the odds would suggest.
Jordan Smith is a 20/1 second favourite to get the job done this week. Smith was second in the China Open three weeks ago and that bodes well for him going into this one but he could only finish T42 and T55 in his two attempts on this course in the past. Smith is known for being excellent from tee to green but if there is a weakness with him it comes in the putting and I’m far from convinced that an unconfident putter will win here so that puts me off.
Wenyi Ding is a talented Chinese player and he is 25/1 to walk away with the title this week. He had a solid Asian Swing without really getting himself into full contention and you would imagine at some point he is going to open his account on the DP World Tour and if it is going to happen then it is likely to be in a tournament when the field is lacking the big stars such as this week. I’m not rushing in to back him but I wouldn’t be quick to dismiss him either.
Joost Luiten is the only other player in the field who is shorter than 33/1 to win the tournament this week. He is 30/1 on the best prices and the Dutchman certainly has the long game to go well here. He showed that in 2017 and 2018 where he registered top 25 finishes and that would give some encouragement, as would his recent form where he was third in the Indian Open and solo 14th at the China Open. The big issue is his putting though and that sways me from getting involved here.
Main Bets
Marco Penge did the job for me in the Hainan Classic last month and I expect him to go from strength to strength now and having won in that field in China we know he is more than capable of getting the job done in this one. Penge is statistically very solid compared to the demands of the track this week. He is fifth in greens in regulation on the DP World Tour this season and fourth in strokes gained putting and those two things are key. He isn’t short off the tee so he can position himself in spots where he can really attack the sections of the greens where the pins are and there is no reason he can’t win in successive starts.
Jacques Kruyswijk has been a regular pick of mine in various events over the last couple of seasons and that is very much the case this week. He is enjoying an excellent campaign with a win in the Kenya Open and a tie for second in the Joburg Open and he is another whose profile fits this course perfectly. He is ranked 16 on strokes gained on approach on the DP World Tour this season and 10 for strokes gained putting. Add into the mix the confidence of winning just two months or so ago and there is a lot to like about the South African who could be a huge challenger here.
Outsiders
Keeping with my theme of good putters going well around here, Marcus Kinhult is seventh on the DP World Tour for strokes gained putting this season and while his long game hasn’t been the best this season, he was T15 in the China Open recently and he has a top 30 finish around here in 2018 when the field for this tournament was much stronger than it is this week. Although it has been a while, Kinhult has won on the DP World Tour and if he can putt his lights out here he could get himself into the mix.
Jamie Rutherford has only played one DP World Tour event in 2025 and he was T5 in the Kenya Open which bodes well because you wouldn’t say he has anything more to beat here than he did there. Either side of that, Rutherford has won on the Challenge Tour in South Africa, had another top 10 finish on it as well as two more top 15 finishes so he is pretty consistent wherever he plays at the minute. It is fair to say that this is slightly above a Challenge Tour field here but not massively so. His approach play has been stellar for a while and you don’t get those Challenge Tour results if you can’t putt. If he can putt well here he could put himself in the mix at a big price.
Tips
Back M.Penge to win Turkish Airlines Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back M.Kinhult to win Turkish Airlines Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back J.Kruyswijk to win Turkish Airlines Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back J.Rutherford to win Turkish Airlines Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
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