With the European Tour’s finest all set for the sixth Rolex Series event of the season, Thorbjørn Olesen will launch his defence of the Turkish Airlines Open in the company of Bernd Wiesberger and Tyrrell Hatton when play gets under way at Regnum Carya Golf on Thursday.
Denmark’sOlesen, who swept to a three-shot wire-to-wire victory and with it secured his fourth European Tour title here 12 months ago, is back in Antalya and will begin his bid to become the first player to retain the Turkish Airlines Open title at 11.55 local time in the first round.
He’ll be joined for the first day’s play by the last Rolex Series winner in red-hotHatton, who won the Italian Open in Milan earlier this month to complete victories in consecutive starts after also winning the Alfred Dunhill Links a week prior, and Austria’sWiesberger, who finished tied ninth last week in Shanghai at the WGC-HSBC Champions.
Elsewhere, Race to Dubai leaderTommy Fleetwood is back in action in Turkey and will this week begin a three-week sprint to the line in his attempt to be crowned European Number One for the first time.
The Englishman, who leads Spain’s Sergio Garcia by nearly 850,000 points at the top of the money-list with three weeks of the 2017 season remaining, is out at 12.05alongside 2008 Order of Merit winnerJustin Rose and reigning Race to Dubai championHenrik Stenson.
Rose moved into contention in the season-long race by claiming his second World Golf Championships title last week at Sheshan, while Stensonalso comes into the week in fine fettle after finishing runner-up behind his Ryder Cup team-mate last Sunday in a repeat of their finishing positions in Rio de Janeiro 14 months ago, when the pair took gold and silver medals in the 2016 Olympics.
Having finished second in this event three years ago, to go with a fifth place a year earlier and a tied 16th in 2015,Ian Poulter will feel confident returning to Turkey, where he’ll get under way at 11.35 with Germany’sMartin Kaymer and AmericanPeter Uihlein.
Meanwhile, another three members of the 2016 European Ryder Cup side will be reunited from 11.45 as Hazeltine debutantsThomas Pieters andMatthew Fitzpatrick are joined by the experiencedLee Westwood.
Two-time Turkish Airlines Open winnerVictor Dubuisson returns to a happy hunting ground from 11.25 in the first round, as the Frenchman hits Regnum Carya’s lush green fairways in the company of Ireland’sPaul Dunne and EnglishmanAndy Sullivan, while three-time Major winnerPadraig Harrington will play alongside France’sAlex Levy and DutchmanJoost Luitenfrom 11.15.
There will be a re-draw in score order for rounds two, three and four with the leaders teeing off last from the first tee.
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