The sixth staging of the Turkish Airlines Open kicked off on Thursday 1 November at the Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort, Antalya.

A host of the world’s finest players will compete at Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, which hosts the tournament for a third straight year.

England’s Justin Rose, who reached the top of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time in September, is defending his title in Antalya this week. Turkish Airlines flies to more destinations than any other airline and first introduced the tournament in 2013.

The world-renowned event, which is the third last of the season, has become a crucial week in the European Tour calendar.

On the occasion of this year’ tournament start, a press conference was held in Antalya with the participations of Republic of Turkey Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the British golfer Justin Rose, Turkish Airlines SVP Corporate Communication, Seda Kalyoncu, and Turkish Golf Federation (TGF) President Ahmet Ağaoğlu.

Commenting on the tournament Rose said; “It feels really good to be back here to defend the title. It’s great here. The hospitality, the food, the sunshine, the golf course… everyone is having a wonderful time. It’s the end of a long year and this is the perfect venue to come to. This week I have the opportunity to defend which is something I have not done in my career, and also to get back to world number one. I’ve had a taste of that now and I have the chance to knock off two big goals this week. To defend a title would be a special feeling too.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is also known for his golf love, Mr. Çavuşoğlu said; “It is thanks to the events like the Turkish Airlines Open, golf in Turkey has been widely promoted, and it is more and more popular with our society, most particularly with many teenagers, playing now. Besides 75 players from all over the world, we have three bright young Turkish golfers playing in this year’ tournament. This tournament is one of the biggest events, not only in Turkey but all over the world. It has become a tradition in Turkey and that will continue. This would not be possible without the support of our partners. I would like to thank to our national pride Turkish Airlines and Turkish Golf Federation as well for successfully carrying out such a great organization in our country in years. And wish success to all golfers.”

Turkish Airlines SVP Corporate Communication, Ms. Seda Kalyoncu said; “Like golf fans all around the world, everyone at Turkish Airlines is excited about the start of the sixth Turkish Airlines Open.  We are happy to once again be hosting some of the best players in the world with our famed hospitality at a tournament that allows us to show all that is good about Turkish Airlines and this beautiful region of Turkey.”

Turkey Golf Federation President Mr. Ahmet Ağaoğlu said; “The series that we’ve been looking forward to during the year now finally begins, so our excitement is inexpressible of course. I wish all our golfers good luck, and all our guests a very pleasant 4 days.”

The Turkish Airlines Open is once again set for huge exposure around the world and last year it reached more than 400 million households with a total broadcast duration of almost 3,000 hours.  The tournament is a key element of Turkish Airlines’ strong commitment to sport, which stretches from soccer at all levels, European Professional Club Rugby and the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Basketball.

The airline’s backing for golf and desire to grow the game around the world includes the Turkish Airlines Challenge, and the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup Amateur Series, which takes place across 100 cities around the world and also held its final in Belek this week.