Justin Rose will aim to become the first player in almost two decades to win three consecutive European Tour tournaments when he defends his title at the Turkish Airlines Open โ the sixth Rolex Series event of the European Tourโs 2019 Race to Dubai - on November 7-10, 2019.
The Englishman has been outstanding on his last two visits to Antalya, winning both the 2017 and 2018 Turkish Airlines Open titles with a combined score of -35.
Roseโs relentless run next to the Mediterranean began when he won the forerunner to the Turkish Airlines Open โ the eight-man Turkish Airlines World Golf Final which included Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy among five of the worldโs top 10 โ in 2012.
His third place at the inaugural Turkish Airlines Open in 2013 was his lowest finish in four visits to the country and, such has been his impact on golf in the country, he was honoured with Turkeyโs Distinguished Service Award for his charity work by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Mevlรผt รavasoglu in 2017.
🇹🇷 3⃣0⃣ The countdown is on! Only 30 days!โฏ#TAOpen2019 will be held from November 7-10 at #MontgomerieMaxxRoyalโฏin #Belek #Antalya #Turkey #TAOpen2019 @gencliksporbak @golffederasyonu @TurkishAirlines @T_A_Golf @montgomeriefdn @MaxxRoyal @AntalyaDes pic.twitter.com/o9o4LL9Rrr
— MontgomerieMaxxRoyal (@MontgomerieMaxx) October 7, 2019
Now in its seventh edition, the tournament returns to the Montgomerie Maxx Royal, which hosted the first three Turkish Airlines Opens, and Rose will attempt to become just the fourth player โ and the first since Colin Montgomerie in 2000 โ to win three successive European Tour tournaments.
World number seven Rose said: โIโve enjoyed a great run at the Turkish Airlines Open and have a lot of happy memories of Antalya, on and off the course. Myself and my family love it there and the welcome is always so warm.
โI had never won two consecutive times at the same tournament before, let alone three, so that would be incredible but you canโt take anything for granted in golf. It will be a strong field as always and Iโll just prepare as well as I can and try to be in the mix on Sunday.
โWeโre back at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal this year and I remember it being a great course and venue and Iโm sure it will be another superb tournament.โ
The Turkish Airlines Open takes place on November 7-10 and is part of the European Tourโs Rolex Series, the premium category of tournaments on the European Tourโs Race to Dubai.
As well as its backing for the Turkish Airlines Open, Turkish Airlines also supports the Challenge Tourโs Turkish Airlines Challenge and Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup, its unrivalled amateur series.
Ahmet Olmuลtur, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Turkish Airlines said: โTurkish Airlines is delighted that Justin Rose will be back in Antalya to defend his Turkish Airlines Open title.
โHe has set new standards here and it will take an impressive performance from anyone to take the trophy away from him. We are now in our seventh year as one of Europeโs biggest tournaments and excitement is building for another great week at the Mongomerie Maxx Royal.โ
Ahmet Aฤaoฤlu, President of the Turkish Golf Federation, said: โJustin is central to the Turkish Airlines Open story and it is an honour to be welcoming him back to Turkey once again.
โHe has been one of the best players in the world for so long and is a great ambassador for the sport. I am certain that once again he will be a key figure in a brilliant tournament.โ