Players to watch at the Turkish Open

players-to-watch-at-the-turkish-open.jpg

The Race to Dubai, the seasonal competition of the European Tour that includes 47 tournaments in 31 countries, is approaching the finish line.

That is why the Turkish Airlines Open is important. It offers the professionals their penultimate opportunity to collect points on their way to Dubai. Their last chance comes this month at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.

The event in Turkey returns to the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course, where it was held from 2013 to 2015.

Here are a few players to watch.

Willett, who came up from five shots to capture the 2016 Masters, was number 462 on the world ranking two years later. There is no guarantee that players who have experienced such a large size will almost regain their old form.

Yet Willett, 32, from England, did exactly that, rising to number 30. In September he captured the BMW PGA championship to finish his second win in the European Tour in 10 months and his seventh over everything take.

He recently took a few big steps back at the CJ Cup in Nine Bridges in South Korea and ended in a draw for the 46th, and during the WGC-HSBC Champions event in China, where he was 76 in could not break his last three rounds. Yet it would not be a big surprise if Willett bounced back into Turkey. He finished fourth on this job in 2014, and finished eleventh in 2015.

“I am back to, not where we want to go, but we are now back to a place where we feel we should be a little more comfortable, "Willett said.

Speaking of comebacks, another notable one was Wiesberger's.

Consider that Wiesberger, 34, of Austria was out of action for the last seven months of 2018 due to a wrist injury, and as recently as May, he dropped to number 378.

Those days seem a long time ago, with his victory over the Italian Open last month , his third title this season, he made an early statement in his attempt to qualify for the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, which would be his first appearance in that event, currently number 1 in the race to Dubai.

He has achieved his success without collecting the most impressive statistics in a few crucial categories. When setting, Wiesberger scored 93rd in strokes; outside the tee it is on average less than 300 meters. He is in ninth place in the green in the regulations.

Wiesberger, number 24 in the world, did not come out of the blue. He has won seven times on the European Tour since 2012.

First, although it was on a different golf course, Rose won this tournament for two consecutive years – by one hit in 2017, and in a play-off last year after Li Haotong from China three putted from 12 feet. For another, he is the number 8 player in the world and one of the favorites every time he picks it up.

This past season, in 17 starts on the PGA Tour, Rose, 39, of England, achieved seven top 10 & # 39; s, including a win at the Farmers Insurance Open in January and a tie for the third place in the United States Open.

Although Rose has not won on the European Tour since he triumphed in Turkey last year, 2016 Olympic champion tries to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2007 for the same European Tour event (the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) three years in a row.

After Wallace won three victories in 2018 and this year did not make it to the winner's circle. But given his play on the big stage – a draw for third place in the PGA Championship, a draw for the twelfth in the US Open – he has shown that he can still compete.

Wallace, 29, from England will certainly not lack motivation. He is sixth in the Race to Dubai and has placed four top 15 & # 39; s in his last six gigs, including a third at the KLM Open and a seventh at the Italian Open in Rome and an eighth at the Portugal Masters.

Yes, he fired an 84 on day 2 in China, but on the other three days he shot a 69, 70 and 69.

He is firmly on the greens – Wallace is on the 14th place in strokes achieved – and from the tee, where he averages just over 304 meters on average. the way he played in 2019. The only thing he didn't do is win.

The left-handed man, who spent more than a year at McNeese State University in Louisiana, also finished second three times as a draw for the fourth in the Italian Open and tying for the sixth in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush . He shot a 68 on Sunday, right for the third lowest score of the day.

MacIntyre is clearly confident.

In Italy, he hit a fairway ride on the 623-garden par-5 ninth hole. Before that he made a double bogey in the hole. His bold move paid off when he reached the green in two, although he had to settle for a birdie.

Van Rooyen, 29, also had a strong show in Italy, ending in a draw for the 10th. The South African resident has put together a solid year, his second on the European Tour.

He won the Scandinavian invitation in August and followed three top 15 & # 39; s in his next four starts. Earlier this season, he was eighth in the P.G.A. Championship.

"The work I have done over the past year and a half is certainly bearing fruit," says Van Rooyen, who is 10th in the race to Dubai.

It is safe to say that part of his success is the result of his short game. In putting, he ranks seventh in strokes achieved. The victory in Scandinavia helped his self-confidence.

"I know how to clean things up when I am in that position," he said. "It is such a satisfying feeling."

Reed, 29, the 2018 Masters champion in 15th place in the world, has played very well in the past three months.

In August, Reed captured the Northern Trust on the PGA Tour, the first event in the FedEx Cup playoffs, and finished 19th in the BMW Championship and ninth in the Tour Championship. During the European Tour, he was 15th in the KLM Open and fourth in the BMW PGA Championship.

Last week, after opening in 72, Reed 69, 69 and 66 drove to China for the eighth tie.