There's plenty at stake for DP World Tour members as the Asian Swing reaches its climax this week at the Turkish Airlines Open. Here are your five things to know.
A new venue
The eyes of the golfing world turn to Antalya, with Belek's National Golf Club, located within Regnum Hotels, taking on host venue duties for the first time for Türkiye's national open. Not only that but it becomes the 463rd venue to stage a DP World Tour event, after the Montgomerie Maxx Royal and Regnum Carya previously served as the backdrop. A par 72, measuring 7,287 yards, the course at the National Golf Club is Türkiye's first internationally acclaimed course. The current course record is 66 (-6) set by Bernd Ritthammer of Germany at the Turkish Airlines Challenge in 2014. Should that be broken this week, $40,000 will go to the first player to do so. Situated on the Turkish Riviera, Belek has become synonymous with high-quality golf tourism, welcoming hundreds of thousands of golf visitors annually. National Golf Club General Manager Hasan Ceylan said: “Hosting such a prestigious tournament at our club, in collaboration with Turkish Airlines and the DP World Tour, is of great significance for both our course and Turkish golf as a whole."
Couvra defends
With victory at last year's edition, Martin Couvra was one of 19 players to win their first DP World Tour title during the 2024-25 DP World Tour season. A graduate of the HotelPlanner Tour in 2024, the Frenchman posted a brilliant closing 64 to finish with a 17-under-par total and claim a two-shot victory on his debut at the Turkish Airlines Open. It built on an impressive start to his rookie DP World Tour season which saw him claim six top tens in his first 11 starts. A runner-up finish at the Italian Open - a result which secured entry into The Open - would soon follow his breakthrough professional win. While he missed out on securing dual membership, finishing 19th in the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World, he was named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year for 2025, becoming the second French player to win the prestigious award. So far this season, the 23-year-old has registered three top tens in ten starts.
Inside the field
Players representing 32 countries are set to tee it up, reinforcing the globality of the DP World Tour and the opportunities it provides. No fewer than seven winners so far this season are among the 156-player field, including the returning Jayden Schaper from South Africa, who at third is the highest ranked player in the Race to Dubai standings following his back-to-back wins at the tail end of 2025. Major champion Francesco Molinari and fellow Rolex Series winner Paul Waring take their place too, with the latter having competed primarily on the PGA TOUR on a medical exemption in 2026 following a serious shoulder injury that caused him to miss five months and limited his 2025 rookie season stateside. Richard Teder, who made headlines by qualifying for The Open last year, won the Turkish Amateur Open in January to secure an invite and the 21-year-old will become just the second Estonian to compete on the DP World Tour. However, a piece of history is being made this week as 17-year-old Yordan Yanakiev becomes the first Bulgarian to play on golf's Global Tour. There are four Turkish golfers on show too for the home crowds, including Leon Acikalin, who became the first Turkish player to make the cut at his national open last year.
Major spots up for grabs as Swing ends
With a prize fund of $2.75 million and the added incentive of qualification for the US PGA Championship for the top-three DP World Tour members on the Asian Swing Rankings at the end of this week, there is plenty at stake. Despite a missed cut at last week's Volvo China Open, Jordan Gumberg is in pole position ahead of the Swing's climax after he claimed his second DP World Tour title at the Hainan Classic presented by MAEXTRO last month. Bernd Wiesberger - a winner on the DP World Tour again for the first time in almost five years - is tied second alongside Alex Fitzpatrick, who is exempt for next month's Major Championship at Aronimink after his history-making PGA TOUR win alongside his brother Matt over the weekend. Adrian Otaegui, runner-up last week in Shanghai, is the man currently best placed to play his way into the top three, but it is all to play for. The winner of the Asian Swing also qualifies for all the Back 9 events and receives a US$200,000 bonus.
Evolution of a global event
While relatively young, the Turkish Airlines Open has played a significant role in the expansion of the DP World Tour’s international footprint. From its inception in 2013, when Tiger Woods made an appearance, the event quickly became a popular stop for players. It rose in stature further in 2017 when it was elevated to the Rolex Series, continuing to attract some of the sport’s biggest names and proving central to the Tour’s end-of-season narrative. After a three-year period in which it formed part of the Tour's leading high-profile events, and following a five-year hiatus between 2020 and 2024, the tournament returned in 2025 through valued ongoing backing from title partner Turkish Airlines and the Turkish Golf Federation. This year it is positioned at the intersection of the Asian Swing climax and the start of the European Swing, acting as a key strategic stop on the DP World Tour's season-long schedule.
