Victory at Maxx Royal is Koepka’s
The champion of the Turkish Airlines Open at Montgomerie Maxx Royal Belek is American golfer Brook Koepka; it was the 21-year-old’s first European Tour victory. The third leg of the European Tour Final Series, the Turkish Airlines Open, was a four-day challenge won by Brooks Koepka scoring one ahead of his closest competitor Ian Poulter and winning the trophy after his 27th appearance in the European Tour. The American scored 271 in total, 17 under par with scores of 69, 67, 70, 65 in the individual rounds. Poulter finished with 16 under par as the runner up, while Henrik Stenson from Sweden took third place with -14.
Koepka won the title and US $1,166,600 prize on the final round. His award was presented by Hamdi Topçu, Chairman of the Board of Turkish Airlines. They were accompanied at the ceremony held on the 18th hole green by the Director of the Ryder Cup Tournament Richard Hills, Spor-Toto General Manager Mehmet Kasapoğlu, President of the Turkish Golf Federation Ahmet Ağaoğlu, Chairman of ETSTur, Mehmet Ersoy and Chief Executive Officer of ISM Chubby Chandler. Mcllroy announced his championship for the Final Series to be held at Dubai next week after his unbeatable score.
FIRST-CLASS FIELD
Although Koepka took the lead on the final with a three-shot lead, many believed that he would fail under the pressure of having such strong opponents as Ian Poulter, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Henrik Stenson. But he truly put on a classy performance at Montgomerie Maxx Royal. Koepka played solidly throughout the weekend, starting the final round in third place. The American made an eagle on the 13th hole and five birdies in total in the last round of the Turkish Airlines Open at Montgomerie Maxx Royal and won his first tournament.
A delighted and emotional Koepka expressed his feelings at the press conference and admitted: “It's awesome. I played well. Obviously Poulter did, too. This field is first‑class. Some of the best players in the world, and it's nice to be the winner.” One score behind, Poulter aimed for a birdie at the 18th hole and missed, costing him both the chance to play at the play-offs and the championship.
PERFECT WIN
This is the second year in a row that the Turkish Airlines Open witnesses a first-time winner with Victor Dubuisson 12 months ago. Victory meant at lot to the 24-year-old. Koepka has now risen to 2,412,936 points and sixth place in The Race to Dubai. He gained a European Tour exemption until the end of 2016. He also became the third American first-time winner this season after Patrick Reed (WGC – Cadillac Championship) and David Lipsky (Omega European Masters), and this is the 198th American victory in European Tour history.