Turkish Airlines Open 2014: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More
A spirited Sunday performance saw Brooks Koepka claim the Turkish Airlines Open title, with the American holding off the challenge of Ian Poulter to secure his first European Tour victory, as European Tour revealed:
The American carded a sensational seven-under-par 65 to get his hands on the trophy, taking his total to 17 under and, crucially, one shot ahead of Poulter.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Here’s a look at the final leaderboard from a thrilling week at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal:
| Position | Golfer | To Par | Sunday's Round |
| 1 | Brooks Koepka | -17 | 65 |
| 2 | Ian Poulter | -16 | 67 |
| 3 | Henrik Stenson | -14 | 64 |
| T4 | Miguel Angel Jimenez | -13 | 68 |
| T4 | Andy Sullivan | -13 | 67 |
| T4 | Danny Willett | -13 | 69 |
| T4 | Wade Ormsby | -13 | 71 |
| T8 | Marcel Siem | -12 | 71 |
| T8 | Lee Westwood | -12 | 71 |
| 10 | Eddie Pepperell | -11 | 69 |
The conditions could not have been better in Antalya as play got underway Sunday, and with such a congested leaderboard heading into the action, the tournament really was anyone’s.
Koepka sat two shots off Wade Ormsby’s lead at 12 under heading into the day, but his flawless seven-under was enough to send a European Tour trophy back to the U.S. for the second consecutive week.
The 24-year-old carded five birdies and an eagle on his way to the 65, but the tournament was won with an impressive par save on the 16th.
After finding trouble off the tee, Koepka could only force his way to 20 feet away from the hole with his putter in hand to save his par four. However, he duly converted, per European Tour:
Having parred in from there, the American set the clubhouse lead at 17 under, but Poulter was just one shot behind with the reachable par-five 18th still to play.
The Englishman had a six-footer to force a playoff, but he pulled his putt left to hand Koepka the victory.
While Poulter can take away endless positives from a great week and a closing five-under-par 67, the glory belongs to Koepka, who spoke to European Tour after his round to reflect on a dream week:
"It's a special week obviously, these four events and The Race to Dubai are ones you prepare for all year, and to win one of them is very special. I feel like I've been playing really well. I've been knocking on the door, and these last maybe two, three months, I've been very close over here and in the States - I felt like I should have won a couple. But I've been knocking on the door and I've learned something every time, and used that today.
I was very relaxed, very calm today, and it showed I guess.To look where I was a year and a half ago on The Challenge Tour and now to be a winner on The European Tour is incredible, especially winning four times there and winning out here, it's very special. So I'm excited to get to next week and hopefully carry my form over.
"
Elsewhere, the rounds of the day belonged to Ryder Cup pair Victor Dubuisson and Henrik Stenson, who posted respective eight-under-par rounds of 64, propelling the latter up to take third place outright.
The Swede posted nine birdies and a bogey to reach 14 under, with Dubuisson enjoying a bogey-free round on his way to a tie for 15th place.
Another Ryder Cup star also reaped glory on the final day in Antalya, too, despite the fact that he wasn’t even in action. Koepka’s victory means that Rory McIlroy is the 2014 Race to Dubai champion—no wonder he was full of praise for the American on Twitter:
Such praise is truly deserved, as the American has been solidity personified throughout the week in Turkey.
Next week, the European Tour season reaches its climax in Dubai in the World Tour Championship, where another fiercely contested, star-studded tournament is set to take place.
Saturday Update
After a storm-soaked Friday, Round 2 of the 2014 Turkish Airlines Open concluded. The notable event of the day was a stuttering performance from Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter.
While he faltered, Australian Wade Ormsby sauntered to the top of the leaderboard. That leaves Poulter and fellow Englishman Lee Westwood, along with BMW Masters winner Marcel Siem in a three-way tie for second place.
Here's what the full leaderboard looks like following Saturday's play:
| Player | To Par | Saturday's Score | Total |
| Wade Ormsby | -12 | -4 | 204 |
| Lee Poulter | -11 | +3 | 205 |
| Lee Westwood | -11 | -5 | 205 |
| Marcel Siem | -11 | -6 | 205 |
| Brooks Koepka | -10 | -2 | 206 |
| Danny Willett | -10 | -3 | 206 |
| Miguel Angel Jimenez | -9 | -1 | 207 |
| Shane Lowry | -8 | Par | 208 |
| Andy Sullivan | -8 | -6 | 208 |
| John Daly | -8 | -5 | 208 |
| Hennie Otto | -8 | Par | 208 |
All scorecard information via EuropeanTour.com.
Poulter's +3 score reflects just how horrible his day was. The nadir came when he played a terrible wedge shot that denied him the chance to earn birdie on the 18th.
By contrast, Westwood was brilliant late on. A closer look at the player's scorecards reveals the contrasting fortunes of both men.
Poulter hit three bogeys, starting that way on the first hole. Things really came undone on the 15th, as the European Tour official Twitter feed detailed:
But while Poulter was stumbling his way across the course at The Montgomerie Maxx Royal, Westwood's progress was relatively serene. He chipped in birdies on the first, sixth, 11th, 12th and 18th holes.
But the undoubted highlight of Westwood's day was the coolly struck Eagle at the Par-4 seven:
Poulter's problems speak to his frequent contrast when playing in Open tournaments compared with the Ryder Cup. He doesn't really have the patience and deliberate style for Open play when he is simply competing against the course.
Instead, Poulter's competitive shackles are best stirred by the gladiatorial environment of the Ryder Cup. Still, despite his woes today, Poulter remains well-placed on a crowded leaderboard:
His challenge now is to calm his erratic game enough to help overcome a steady hand like Ormsby.
Friday Update
Heavy storms saw play suspended several times on Friday, with event organisers eventually making the call to come back on Saturday morning. The European Tour's official Twitter feed confirmed the news:
Tee times were moved 90 minutes in an attempt to complete the second round before the storm hit, but it arrived earlier than expected, leading to the first break. Despite hopes play would be able to continue once it passed, a second downpour led to the action being abandoned.
England's Ian Poulter made his way to the 14th hole before he was hit by the storm, grabbing top spot on the leaderboard in the process with a five-under 51.
The current leaderboard looks like this with the second round still to be completed:
| Ian Poulter | -13 | -5 (after 14) | 64 |
| Brendon de Jonge | -10 | -3 (after 13) | 65 |
| Wade Ormsby | -9 | -2 (after 16) | 65 |
| Brooks Koepka | -9 | -6 (after 15) | 69 |
| Miguel Angel Jimenez | -8 | +1 (after 14) | 63 |
| Branden Grace | -8 | -3 (after 12) | 67 |
| Shane Lowry | -7 | -5 (after 14) | 70 |
| Hennie Otto | -7 | -2 (after 12) | 67 |
| Thongchai Jaidee | -7 | -4 (after 10) | 69 |
| Alejandro Canizares | -7 | -4 (after 8) | 69 |
Poulter bogeyed the 12th hole for the second consecutive day but was flawless otherwise, carding six birdies before the rain brought an end to his day.
He also took this snapshot of the rough seas in Antalya, confirming event organisers made the right decision:
Poulter had been trailing Miguel Angel Jimenez by a shot coming into the day and watched the Spaniard open his account with back-to-back birdies on Friday, but three bogeys brought his score back down, moving him down to fifth on the leaderboard.
Defending champion Victor Dubuisson had to battle through severe nose bleeds to reach the 14th at three under for the day, jumping 10 spots in the standings to finish the day 61st.
Golfcentraldaily posted a video on Instagram, where you can clearly see the tissues stuck up the Frenchman's nose:
Jamie Donaldson couldn't make it past the front nine on Friday, hitting two bogeys and a birdie to reach the turn in 36. With Sergio Garcia and Marcel Siem also failing to go anywhere near the top 10, things are looking good for Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai rankings.
Brooks Koepka was one of the day's biggest risers, in large part thanks to six birdies and a single bogey on the front nine. The 24-year-old was impressive driving the ball from the tee, and he ended his session six-under with three holes left to play.
Shane Lowry also put in a good shift, advancing to five under for the day after starting with an eagle on the very first hole.
Brendon de Jonge chases Poulter by three shots at the top of the leaderboard, with Wade Ormsby and Koepka one shot further back.
Thursday Update
Here is a look at the pecking order entering the second round of play, courtesy of EuropeanTour.com:
| 1 | Miguel Angel Jimenez | 63 | -9 |
| 2 | Ian Poulter | 64 | -8 |
| T3 | Tyrrell Hatton | 65 | -7 |
| T3 | Wade Ormsby | 65 | -7 |
| T3 | Brendon de Jonge | 65 | -7 |
| T6 | Branden Grace | 67 | -5 |
| T6 | Hennie Otto | 67 | -5 |
| T6 | Romain Wattel | 67 | -5 |
| T6 | Edoardo Molinari | 67 | -5 |
| T6 | Marc Warren | 67 | -5 |
| T6 | Danny Willett | 67 | -5 |
| T6 | Stephen Gallacher | 67 | -5 |
| T6 | Oliver Fisher | 67 | -5 |
| T6 | Andy Sullivan | 67 | -5 |
Jimenez, who is affectionately referred to as The Mechanic, was the story all day long. It was apparent from the very start that he had a spectacular round ahead of him, as he eagled the par-four 10th to start his outing, according to the European Tour's official Twitter account:
The 50-year-old golfer was playing so well, in fact, that he was actually in the running to potentially shoot an elusive 59, per Luke Kerr-Dineen of Golf Digest:
That didn't come to pass, as Jimenez parred each of his final four holes, but it was an incredible start to the tournament nonetheless.
England's Ian Poulter wasn't too far off that pace, as he carded an eight-under 64 to enter the second round just one stroke behind the leader.
Much like Jimenez, Poulter set a blistering pace before tapering off late in the round, as seen in this graphic, courtesy of Golfing World:
After Jimenez and Poulter, Tyrrell Hatton, Wade Ormsby and Brendon de Jonge are all lurking in fine position at seven under.
While stars such as Jimenez and Poulter are in ideal position after the first round, not everyone was fortunate enough to get off to a hot start. France's Victor Dubuisson won the inaugural Turkish Airlines Open last year, and it launched his career to new heights.
He aimed to defend his title in 2014 and was excited for the opportunity to do so, according to Sportal.
"I am really looking forward to returning to Turkey," Dubuisson said. "It is where it all started for me, and I'm delighted to be able to return to Antalya and not only re-live those wonderful memories, but hopefully build some more."
Although there are still three rounds left to play, the likelihood of a Dubuisson repeat is incredibly slim, as he shot a disappointing five-over 77.
Dubuisson was far from the only big name to stumble out of the gates, though, as Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia are two over and three over par, respectively.
A lot can happen over the next three days, but all signs point toward an extremely low score being needed to win this tournament. Dubuisson won by two strokes at 24 under par in 2013, and the current pace set by Jimenez is even lower than that.
Montgomerie Maxx Royal is a course in which plenty of strokes can be made up in a short period of time, so it will be interesting to see if any of the golfers who started slowly will be able to find their way back to contention.
Jimenez and Poulter have set the standard for now, but keeping up such a high level of play for three more rounds will be an immense challenge.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
