Turkish Airlines Challenge - R4

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Sublime Syme triumphs in Turkey play-off
Posted on
April 28, 2019
by
The Editorial Team in ,
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

April 25-28
Samsun Golf Club, Samsun, Turkey
€200,000
Round 1, Round 2, Round 3


Connor Syme claimed his first European Challenge Tour title in style at the Turkish Airlines Challenge as he held his nerve to defeat Francesco Laporta in a play-off to triumph at Samsun Golf Club.

Sublime Syme triumphs in Turkey play-off, © Getty Images
© Getty Images

The duo played in the same group together for the second successive day and both carded five under par rounds of 67 to reach a 23 under par total, meaning extra holes were required to determine a winner.

Returning to the 18th hole, both players found the fairway with an iron off the tee before Syme hit a sensational seven iron approach to five feet and subsequently holed the birdie putt to win the first Challenge Tour Rankings event of the season.

The 23-year-old was showered with water in celebration by his compatriots after securing victory and he believes this win justifies his decision to play in Turkey, and not in Morocco at the Trophée Hassan II.

“It’s massive, I’m absolutely thrilled,” he said. “A few people might have been thinking why I hadn’t gone to Morocco this week so it was good to justify my decision to come here and win. I’m absolutely delighted and it sets me up for the season so hopefully it’s just the start.

“Of all the holes, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to play 18 because I’ve not really got a club for it. I’ve got a five wood in the bag this week but that brings the bunker into play off the left, so I just had to hit four iron.

“I had 190 yards in regular play and it was right in between and eight and a seven for me because it’s a little bit down breeze, so I had to hit eight and try and draw it and didn’t quite get it right, so I holed a good putt for par.

“There in the play-off, I had 196 yards and it was very quick, I just pulled seven because it was the shot I’d been practising on the range and it was the right shot at the right time, so I’m delighted.”

With players shooting rounds of 11 under par and ten under par in the first three days, the course setup team set some testing pins for the final round, meaning scoring was more moderate and suited Syme’s game plan.

“The scoring has been crazy low the whole week and I had a feeling that I needed to get to 25 under par,” he said. “That was my target and I just wanted to play my own game but it’s just so difficult with the big leaderboards and you see people aren’t pushing as much as you possibly thought.

“I thought I had to get to 25 under par. The last few holes are challenging. I honestly thought last night that I was in the perfect position because the way the course is it’s so difficult to keep pushing all the time.


“When you’re ahead, it’s probably hard to keep pushing on so I was in a good position where I wasn’t sleeping on a lead. I was there still being able to shoot at a number and I was able to do that.

“I got a bit unlucky on 14 to make six; I was inches away from having a good opportunity to make birdie but I composed myself and made a really good birdie on 17 to give myself a chance.

“It was great to play with Francesco as well; we shot the same score and couldn’t be separated playing together two days in a row, so it was good that we finished with a birdie there to separate us.”

Dutch duo Wil Besseling and Darius van Driel shared third place on 22 under par following respective rounds of 65 and 67, while Mark Flindt Haastrup, who started the day in second place, and three-time European Tour winner Grégory Havret came tied fifth on 21 under par.

Overnight leader Adrian Meronk posted a one over par round of 73 to finish in a tie for seventh alongside English duo Gary Boyd and Matthew Jordan.

With victory in Turkey, Syme jumps straight to the top of the Challenge Tour Rankings with 32,000 points, while Laporta is second with 22,000.

The Challenge Tour now heads to Spain for the Challenge de España at Izki Golf, Urturi.


Pos.
Player
Nat.
R1
R2
R3
R4
To Par
Total
Prize Money
1
SYME Connor
SCO
65
67
66
67
-23
265
€ 32,000
2
LAPORTA Francesco
ITA
62
70
66
67
-23
265
€ 22,000
3
BESSELING Wil
NED
66
68
67
65
-22
266
€ 13,000
3
VAN DRIEL Darius
NED
64
69
66
67
-22
266
€ 13,000
5
HAASTRUP Mark Flindt
DEN
67
61
68
71
-21
267
€ 9,000
5
HAVRET Grégory
FRA
68
70
62
67
-21
267
€ 9,000
7
BOYD Gary
ENG
67
66
68
67
-20
268
€ 5,600
7
JORDAN Matthew
ENG
68
62
67
71
-20
268
€ 5,600
7
MERONK Adrian
POL
68
62
65
73
-20
268
€ 5,600
10
CUARTERO BLANCO Emilio
ESP
68
70
66
65
-19
269
€ 4,067
10
ROUSSEL Robin
FRA
67
65
69
68
-19
269
€ 4,067
10
TREE Toby
ENG
65
67
68
69
-19
269
€ 4,067
13
JOHANSSON Niclas
SWE
65
71
64
70
-18
270
€ 3,300
13
LINDELL Oliver
FIN
68
67
68
67
-18
270
€ 3,300
13
MCGEE Ruaidhri
IRL
66
66
67
71
-18
270
€ 3,300
13
SCHWARTZ Antoine
FRA
69
65
69
67
-18
270
€ 3,300
17
BRUN Julien
FRA
68
65
67
71
-17
271
€ 2,343
17
HELLIGKILDE Marcus
DEN
70
67
67
67
-17
271
€ 2,343
17
HØJGAARD Nicolai
DEN
70
68
65
68
-17
271
€ 2,343
17
LAMPERT Moritz
GER
67
71
65
68
-17
271
€ 2,343
17
STOW Ben
ENG
70
64
63
74
-17
271
€ 2,343
17
TARRIO BEN Santiago
ESP
70
66
64
71
-17
271
€ 2,343
23
FENASSE Mathieu
FRA
70
67
66
69
-16
272
€ 1,900
23
LLOYD Chris
ENG
71
64
66
71
-16
272
€ 1,900
25
BERARDO Clément
FRA
70
69
66
68
-15
273
€ 1,800
25
CARLSSON Magnus A
SWE
71
67
66
69
-15
273
€ 1,800
25
FORD Matt
ENG
71
67
66
69
-15
273
€ 1,800
28
KOLBING Jonas
GER
66
72
65
71
-14
274
€ 1,720
29
ABBOTT Jamie
ENG
68
68
69
70
-13
275
€ 1,560
29
ARMITAGE Marcus
ENG
68
71
67
69
-13
275
€ 1,560
29
COUPLAND Dave
ENG
67
69
68
71
-13
275
€ 1,560
29
HEISELE Sebastian
GER
70
65
72
68
-13
275
€ 1,560
29
KNAPPE Alexander
GER
67
67
70
71
-13
275
€ 1,560
29
RIU Victor
FRA
66
69
71
69
-13
275
€ 1,560
29
WRISDALE Jordan
ENG
70
67
68
70
-13
275
€ 1,560
36
CHO Rak hyun
KOR
71
66
72
67
-12
276
€ 1,260
36
ENOCH Rhys
WAL
69
69
71
67
-12
276
€ 1,260
36
GROS Sébastien
FRA
66
70
69
71
-12
276
€ 1,260
36
JOHN Allen
GER
68
69
70
69
-12
276
€ 1,260
36
O'ROURKE Conor
IRL
68
67
69
72
-12
276
€ 1,260
36
PORTEOUS Garrick
ENG
68
66
71
71
-12
276
€ 1,260
36
VON DELLINGSHAUSEN Nicolai
GER
69
68
67
72
-12
276
€ 1,260
36
WAITE Mitch
ENG
68
69
71
68
-12
276
€ 1,260
44
BLAND Richard
ENG
70
67
68
72
-11
277
€ 1,040
44
HENRY Scott
SCO
68
65
71
73
-11
277
€ 1,040
44
SIMONSEN Martin
DEN
69
70
65
73
-11
277
€ 1,040
47
ARIZABALETA Alvaro
COL
70
69
68
71
-10
278
€ 849
47
GASPAR Miguel
POR
69
68
70
71
-10
278
€ 849
47
LENGDEN Oscar
SWE
72
66
71
69
-10
278
€ 849
47
NEMECZ Lukas
AUT
69
69
70
70
-10
278
€ 849
47
ROZNER Antoine
FRA
65
72
69
72
-10
278
€ 849
47
SCIOT-SIEGRIST Robin
FRA
66
65
70
77
-10
278
€ 849
47
TILEY Steven
ENG
69
69
69
71
-10
278
€ 849
54
SCHNEIDER Marcel
GER
69
69
69
72
-9
279
€ 740
55
KIM Minkyu
KOR
68
71
67
75
-7
281
€ 720
56
MADDY Paul
ENG
70
68
72
72
-6
282
€ 700
57
KEYSER Matthiam
RSA
70
69
71
73
-5
283
€ 680
58
MCCARTHY Nick
ENG
72
67
70
75
-4
284
€ 650
58
SAXTON Reinier
NED
69
70
74
71
-4
284
€ 650
60
FOOS Dominic
GER
69
70
75
77
3
291
€ 620
61
ANGLES Pep
ESP
68
72
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
DAVIDSON Jack
WAL
71
69
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
DE SOUSA Raphaël
SUI
72
68
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
DECOTTIGNIES-LAFON Mathieu
FRA
69
71
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
FERGUSON Ewen
SCO
72
68
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
HUIZING Daan
NED
70
70
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
KAKKO Roope
FIN
68
72
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
KUNZENBACHER Julian
GER
71
69
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
MANSELL Richard
ENG
70
70
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
MCBRIDE Paul
IRL
66
74
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
MØLLER Niklas Norgaard
DEN
71
69
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
SARACINO Andrea
ITA
70
70
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
SCALISE Lorenzo
ITA
75
65
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
61
STALTER Joël
FRA
68
72
0
0
-4
140
€ 0
75
EASTON Bryce
RSA
73
68
0
0
-3
141
€ 0
75
ERIKSSON Philip
SWE
70
71
0
0
-3
141
€ 0
75
LIMA José-Filipe
POR
74
67
0
0
-3
141
€ 0
75
LINARD Thomas
FRA
73
68
0
0
-3
141
€ 0
75
PERRIER Damien
FRA
73
68
0
0
-3
141
€ 0
75
PIGEM Carlos
ESP
68
73
0
0
-3
141
€ 0
75
ROSS Craig
SCO
73
68
0
0
-3
141
€ 0
75
SANTOS Ricardo
POR
75
66
0
0
-3
141
€ 0
75
VALIMAKI Sami
FIN
69
72
0
0
-3
141
€ 0
75
WIDEGREN Pontus
SWE
69
72
0
0
-3
141
€ 0
85
ALTUNTAS Ali
TUR
71
71
0
0
-2
142
€ 0
85
ECCLES Ben
AUS
72
70
0
0
-2
142
€ 0
85
ERIKSSON Martin
SWE
71
71
0
0
-2
142
€ 0
85
GLENNEMO Jacob
SWE
74
68
0
0
-2
142
€ 0
85
SPOONER Billy
ENG
67
75
0
0
-2
142
€ 0
85
STEWART Duncan
SCO
69
73
0
0
-2
142
€ 0
85
STUREHED Henric
SWE
71
71
0
0
-2
142
€ 0
85
VECCHI FOSSA Jacopo
ITA
72
70
0
0
-2
142
€ 0
85
VIRTO Borja
ESP
70
72
0
0
-2
142
€ 0
94
BRAEUNIG Christian
GER
72
71
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
COHEN Perry
SUI
73
70
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
DAYDOU Alexandre
FRA
69
74
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
FERNANDEZ Scott
ESP
73
70
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
FORSSTRÖM Simon
SWE
74
69
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
GILLBERG Oliver
SWE
72
71
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
HILL Calum
SCO
68
75
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
LANDO CASANOVA Jérôme
FRA
73
70
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
LIPPARELLI Edoardo Raffaele
ITA
71
72
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
MCDONALD Jack
SCO
70
73
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
MIVIS Christopher
BEL
71
72
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
MRUZEK Filip
CZE
71
72
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
NEIL Bradley
SCO
71
72
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
NILEHN Fredrik
SWE
71
72
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
POKE Benjamin
DEN
71
72
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
94
SHARVIN Cormac
NIR
72
71
0
0
-1
143
€ 0
110
AHOKAS Antti
FIN
73
71
0
0
0
144
€ 0
110
BERNA MANZANARES Daniel
ESP
69
75
0
0
0
144
€ 0
110
DAWSON Robin
IRL
76
68
0
0
0
144
€ 0
110
EGGENBERGER Mathias
SUI
74
70
0
0
0
144
€ 0
110
KARLBERG Rikard
SWE
72
72
0
0
0
144
€ 0
110
MATUS Stanislav
CZE
71
73
0
0
0
144
€ 0
116
HANSON Chris
ENG
71
74
0
0
1
145
€ 0
116
HULDAHL Jeppe Pape
DEN
75
70
0
0
1
145
€ 0
116
NEUMAYER Bernard
AUT
71
74
0
0
1
145
€ 0
116
OVESEN Martin
DEN
76
69
0
0
1
145
€ 0
116
ROBB Chris
SCO
73
72
0
0
1
145
€ 0
116
RUTHERFORD Jamie
ENG
73
72
0
0
1
145
€ 0
116
STAL Gary
FRA
73
72
0
0
1
145
€ 0
123
BOOTE David
WAL
72
74
0
0
2
146
€ 0
123
GLOET Christian
DEN
72
74
0
0
2
146
€ 0
123
HOWIE Craig
SCO
73
73
0
0
2
146
€ 0
123
ITEN Marco
SUI
72
74
0
0
2
146
€ 0
123
MOHR Marcus
ENG
73
73
0
0
2
146
€ 0
123
SAINZ Javier
ESP
69
77
0
0
2
146
€ 0
129
CALDWELL Jonathan
NIR
76
71
0
0
3
147
€ 0
129
GRADECKI Mateusz
POL
74
73
0
0
3
147
€ 0
129
JOANNES Hugues
BEL
75
72
0
0
3
147
€ 0
129
WEJSHAG Anton
SWE
73
74
0
0
3
147
€ 0
133
ELLIS Harry
ENG
72
76
0
0
4
148
€ 0
133
TINNING Nicolai
DEN
76
72
0
0
4
148
€ 0
135
KÖK Fahrettin
TUR
79
70
0
0
5
149
€ 0
135
SHIM Jaewoo
KOR
75
74
0
0
5
149
€ 0
137
CARLOTA Joao
POR
74
76
0
0
6
150
€ 0
137
COHEN-BOYER Louis
FRA
74
76
0
0
6
150
€ 0
137
COUSSAUD Ugo
FRA
77
73
0
0
6
150
€ 0
137
LACROIX Frederic
FRA
75
75
0
0
6
150
€ 0
137
STARK Oscar
SWE
81
69
0
0
6
150
€ 0
142
YAMAC (AM) Taner
TUR
79
72
0
0
7
151
€ 0
143
SAYIN Hamza
TUR
75
77
0
0
8
152
€ 0
144
SJÖHOLM Joel
SWE
74
79
0
0
9
153
€ 0
145
HURLEY Gary
IRL
74
80
0
0
10
154
€ 0
145
KAPLAN (AM) Orkunhan
TUR
81
73
0
0
10
154
€ 0
145
OLSEN Aksel
NOR
79
75
0
0
10
154
€ 0
148
CHOI (AM) Junmin
KOR
76
79
0
0
11
155
€ 0
148
SHEPHERD Jake
ENG
81
74
0
0
11
155
€ 0
150
UYAR (AM) Emre
TUR
79
77
0
0
12
156
€ 0
151
ASLAN (AM) Tarik
TUR
79
80
0
0
15
159
€ 0
151
KARATAS Bulent
TUR
79
80
0
0
15
159
€ 0
153
HRINDA (AM) Jakub
SVK
78
84
0
0
18
162
€ 0
154
CELIK (AM) Berk
TUR
80
87
0
0
23
167
€ 0
155
DREIER Frederik
DEN
76
0
0
0
4
76
€ 0
155
KIMSEY Nathan
ENG
76
0
0
0
4
76
€ 0
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