DP World Tour Preview – Turkish Airlines Open
DP World Tour Preview – Turkish Airlines Open
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Welcome to Week 18 of the 2026 Golf Calendar Year!
Last Week’s Recap:
Dare I say it is the year of the Fitzpatrick brothers? First Matt wins the Valspar on the PGA Tour, then Alex wins the Hero Indian Open on the DP World Tour the very next week for his 1st win on that tour, Matt comes back and wins the RBC Heritage for a signature win 2 weeks ago, and then they both team up to the Zurich Classic on the PGA Tour last week. Fantastic stuff. I am fans of both and look forward to seeing them possibly compete against each other in events down the stretch across both tours that could be favorable to both. Congrats to the two of them on their last 5 weeks of spectacular golf and may the run continue! Kudos to those of you who have stayed the course with them and rode the wave to great success last week as well.
For as good as their run has been, the picks I provided last week for the Volvo China Open were atrociously bad. We saw just 9 of our 20 suggestions, from the primary and secondary sections make the cut with just 4 of the 9 recording finishes of T-20 or better. When a $7K golfer that you had reservations about playing lands a 5th place finish and that was your best producing effort from a group of 20, you know you have had a bad week. I do hope there is someone out there reading this that out-performed us in DFS and/or the betting markets. While we had no action on him, I was thrilled to see Bernd Wiesberger turn back the clock and win his first title in 5 years at last week’s event. I certainly thought after Otaegui’s brilliant round on Saturday left him 1 ahead that BW’s luck might have run out, but Otaegui could get nothing going on Sunday and BW looked as steady on Sunday as he did the rest of the week, and he was able to press on for a 3-stroke victory. Congrats to him on the victory and a hearty huzzah for any of you who had exposure to him in DFS and/or the betting markets.
Where does that leave us this week?
The PGA Tour picks back up over the next 2 years heading into the PGA Championship. Their first stop this week is a return to Doral in South Florida for the Cadillac Championship. Another signature event. Is it a Scottie cakewalk? He fits like a glove here and should do well. I do think it possible that he wins and perhaps it is one of those weird weeks where you could take down a GPP and not have the winner by nailing everyone else? Jeff’s Hardcore Core breaks it down well and I encourage you to give it a read if you have not already. I am curious to see how Zach and Stat Boy approach the event when they post their article which I expect soon, if they are not already posted by the time this goes live.
And as far as over here in the land of the DP World Tour, this week sees us tackle the Turkish Airlines Open, only this time it is held at a new venue: National Golf Club. And it is a bit different from prior hosts. Does that mean much? Time to dive in and find out if we can make some cash.
Event Overview:
Turkish Airlines Open
National Golf Club
Belek, Antalya, Türkiye
Prize Fund: USD-$2,750,000.
R2DR Points: 3,500
Par 72(36-36) at 7,287 yards
(A typical 10-Par 4; 4-Par 4; 4-Par 5 setup).
Things to Consider/What Do We Know?
The weather might be the easiest place to start because it is one of the few known commodities we have coming into the event. The event should be cool with temps in the 60-degree Fahrenheit range with a slight breeze; however, the later rounds on Saturday and Sunday show a chance of storms in the forecast which might add some spice in closing round. So, stay tuned and monitor things closely for that.
The event returned last year after a six-year hiatus and saw Martin Couvra capture the title by 2 strokes with a closing 64 to edge out Jorge Campillo and Hao-tong Li at Carya Golf Club. Curiously enough, this year’s venue, National Golf Club, sits within the same Regnum Hotels estate as Carya. While Carya was heathland-style course, National is a parkland-style course.
National might be best described as a slightly-rolling, tight, and strategic, framed by towering pine and eucalyptus trees. Dare I say claustrophobic? The last professional men’s event held on the course was in 2014 on the HotelPlanner Tour and the winner that week, Oliver Farr, was the only golfer to finish under par for the week. The fairways are narrow and doglegging with bunkers placed in spots to leave you challenged. The playing lines are frequently blocked by the trees. Finding the correct angles off the tee and with your approach shot are paramount. The greens are Bermuda, raised, fast, and with slight breaks. Those that played on the Bermuda last week in China might have a slight edge. Water is in play on 8 of the 18 holes from the 10 lakes scattered around the course.
Now one of the questions I frequently get asked about events on any of the tours is comp courses. I do not know if I am right on any given week, in fact, I am not, but my approach is the same in trying to dig up useful ones. Whether it is a designer clue, leaderboard clue, yardage clue, seasonality/country preference, or a belief in stats being important at one place turning up being important at another, something makes eventually makes sense. Some weeks more than others, but things eventually click. Bermuda courses. Turkish Courses. Strategic Tree-lined venues where Accuracy and Bogey Avoidance play a large part in your success are worth long looks even if they might not appear to be an apples-to-apples comparison from the start. Some of the below fit better than the others, but these seemed to catch my eye the most. I do not think there are many wrong answers on courses with limited information, so do not be afraid to find your own courses to add to a list of your own.
The comp course listed that I compared against in full:
Turkish Open – Regnum Carya Golf & Spa, Montgomerie Maxx Royal; BMW PGA Championship – Wentworth GC; British Masters – Brabazon Course at the Belfry; Alfred Dunhill Championship – Leopard Creek CC; Soudal Open – Rinkven International; Open de Espana – Club de Campo Villa de Madrid; DP World India Championship – Delhi GC; Volvo China Open – Enhance Anting GC; BMW International – GC Munchen Eichenried.
Favorite Hole:
#12 – Par 5 – 560 Yards. Dare you take on the water hazard to perhaps leave yourself an easier eagle chance?
Stats to Consider:
Heaviest Consideration: Bogey Avoidance, 3-Putt Avoidance, GIR, Par 4 Scoring, Scrambling, Total Driving (with a lean more towards DA vs. DD), Comp Courses, SG: BS (Lean towards APP over OTT),
Other Things to Consider: Par 5 Scoring, Recent Form, SG: ARG
DFS Names to Consider (All salaries based on DraftKings prices in US Dollars):
Tuesday PM/Wednesday AM Thoughts: I do not think much of the bottom of the board. (Then again most of the time I do not anyway). I really do like the top of the board quite a bit, especially the favorites, particularly Puig. Boring, huh? The burning question for me is how do you connect Puig and maximize winning lineups? Can you squeeze in 4 7K guys with Puig and take your favorite with the remainder? Or does it still make sense to take a swing with 2 golfers above $9K and see if you can squeeze in a 3rd golfer in more of a balanced approach? Or perhaps I am just overthinking it and the best approach is to stay the course with a favored 10-9-8-7-7-6 type of lineup and hope for the best. The heavy weights here are those golfers in the $7,500-$8,900 range, so I would not quickly eliminate anyone from that group and if you can squeeze in 4 golfers from here, you might be doing yourself a favor. My best stabs are below.
High End Plays (Over $9,000):
David Puig – ($10,700): Ranks #1 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Will be making his debut appearance at the event. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 4/DD, 18/SG: T2G and 17/SG: P. Began his 2026 season with a win the Australian PGA Championship on the DP World Tour and has since finished inside the T-10 or better in 4 of the 6 LIV events played thus far this season, including a runner-up finish at his last out at Mexico City. On the 2026 LIV season thus far, he currently holds ranks of 3/Driving Distance, T-9/GIR, T-3/Birdies, 13/Scrambling and T-13/Putting Average.
Angel Ayora – ($10,300): Ranks #24 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Finished T-61 at the 2025 Turkish Airlines Open in his only appearance to date at the event. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 18/DD and 4/SG: T2G. Has made the cut in 12 of 13 DP World Tour events played thus far and has recorded T-25 or better finishes in 8 of them, most notably a T-5 finish back in February at Qatar. Across his 2026 DP World Tour season, he currently holds ranks of 14/Scoring Average, 15/Bogey Avoidance, 7/DD, 103/DA, 5/SG: T2G, 42/GIR and 8/Scrambling.
Oliver Lindell – ($9,400): Ranks #63 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Finished T-12 at the 2025 Turkish Airlines Open in his only appearance to date at the event. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 47/DA, 6/SG: T2G and 13/SG: P. Has made the cut in all 11 of the DP World Tour events played thus far and has recorded T-25 or better finishes in 5 of them, most notable a T-5 finishes back in February at Qatar. Across his 2026 DP World Tour season, he currently holds ranks of 36/Scoring Average, 38/Bogey Avoidance, 109/DD, 73/DA, 11/SG: T2G, 43/GIR, 31/Sand Saves, 55/Scrambling, and 70/SG: P.
Eugenio Chacarra – ($9,300): Ranks #62 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Will be making his debut appearance at the event. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 20/DD, 56/DA, 19/SG: OTT and 37/SG: ARG. Has made the cut in 7 of the 10 DP World Tour Events played thus far and has recorded T-25 or better finishes in 4 of them, most notably a runner-up finish at the Hero Indian Open in March and a solo 3rd place finish at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in December. He also holds a T-9 at the Tulum Championship on the KFT earlier this month as well as a T-21 finish at Puerto Rico on the PGA Tour in March. Across his 2026 DP World Tour season, he currently holds ranks of 64/Scoring Average, 32/Bogey Avoidance, 11/DD, 60/DA, 22/SG: T2G, 40/GIR, 91/Sand Saves and 38/Scrambling,
Middle-Tier Plays ($7,500-$8,900):
Francesco Molinari – ($8,400): Ranks #3 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Has 2 T-25 or better finishes in 3 prior starts at the event. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 5/DA and 2/SG: T2G. Has played in just 5 DP World Tour events thus far this season, but has made the cut in all 5 of them and finishes inside the T-10 in 3 of the 5, including stops at Nedbank, the Dubai Desert Classic and his last out, the Hero Indian Open. Across his 2026 DP World Tour season, he currently holds ranks of 95/Scoring Average, 18/Bogey Avoidance, 92/DD, 12/DA, 6/SG: T2G, 37/GIR and 34/Scrambling.
Thriston Lawrence – ($8,200): Ranks #26 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Will be making his debut appearance at the event. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 26/SG: T2G. Has made the cut in 6 of 10 DP World Tour events played thus far and has recorded T-25 or better finishes in 3 of them, most notably a T-6 finish at the Hainan Classic back last month. Across his 2026 DP World Tour season, he currently holds ranks of 58/Scoring Average, 72/Bogey Avoidance, 93/DD, 62/DA, 55/SG: T2G, 84/GIR, 57/Scrambling, 59/Sand Saves and 54/SG: P.
Julien Guerrier – ($7,900): Ranks #55 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Finished T-52 at the 2025 Turkish Airlines Open in his best finish of 2 appearance at the event. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 57/DD, 3/SG: T2G and 58/SG: P. Has made the cut in 8 of 9 DP World Tour events played thus far and has recorded T-25 or better finishes in 5 of them, most notable were 3 T-6 or better finishes to begin his season at Nedbank and both Dubai events back in January. Across his 2026 DP World Tour season, he currently holds ranks of 35/Scoring Average, 13/Bogey Avoidance, 38/DD, 126/DA, 25/SG: T2G, 34/GIR, 15/Scrambling, 42/Sand Saves and 36/SG: P.
Dan Bradbury – ($7,800): Ranks #27 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Missed the cut at the 2025 Turkish Airlines Open in his only appearance to date at the event. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 52/DD, 27/DA, 22/SG: T2G and 47/SG: P. Has made the cut in 8 of 11 DP World Tour events played thus far and has recorded T-25 or better finishes in 4 of them, most notably a runner-up finish at Nedbank in December and a win at Joburg in early March. Across his 2026 DP World Tour season, he currently holds ranks of 38/Scoring Average, 68/Bogey Avoidance, 32/DD, 53/DA, 13/SG: T2G, 22/GIR, 97/Scrambling, and 64/Sand Saves.
Value Plays ($7,400 and Lower):
Daniel (Da Costa) Rodrigues – ($7,300): Ranks #4 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Will be making his debut appearance at the event. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 35/DA and 25/SG: ARG. Has made the cut in 8 of 10 DP World Tour events played thus far during his first season on tour and has recorded T-25 or better finishes in 3 of them, including 2 over his past 3 events, which covers last week’s Volvo China Open. Across his 2026 DP World Tour season, he currently holds ranks of 24/Scoring Average, 24/Bogey Avoidance, 130/DD, 20/DA, 39/SG: T2G, 8/GIR, 63/Scrambling, and 73/SG: P.
Rafa Cabrera Bello – ($7,200): Ranks #21 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Has made the cut in 4 prior appearances at the event, with a best finish of T-11 in 2015. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 3/SG: APP and 21/SG: P. Has made the cut in 7 of 10 DP World Tour events played thus far and has recorded T-25 or better finishes in 6 of them, most notably a T-9 finish at the South African Open Championship in December. Across his 2026 DP World Tour season, he currently holds ranks of 49/Scoring Average, 44/Bogey Avoidance, 107/DD, 43/DA, 32/SG: T2G, 67/GIR, 31/Scrambling and 22/Sand Saves.
Kazuma Kobori – ($7,000): Ranks #12 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Finished T-52 at the 2025 Turkish Airlines Open in his only appearance to date at the event. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 8/DA, 33/SG: T2G and 3/SG: P. Has made the cut in 5 of 8 DP World Tour events played thus far and has recorded T-25 or better finishes in just 2 of them, the BMW Australian PGA and Qatar Masters. He does have 2 additional T-25 or better finishes on the PGA Tour of Australasia since the beginning of March as well. Across his 2026 DP World Tour season, he currently holds ranks of 27/Bogey Avoidance, 31/Par 4 Scoring, 153/DD, 2/DA, 110/GIR, 39/Scrambling, 32/Sand Saves and 11/SG: P.
Anthony Quayle – ($6,800): Ranks #2 in Avg SG: Total per round on the comp course list provided above in the article. Will be making his debut appearance at the event. Relative to the field over the last 24 rounds he ranks 16/DD, 48/SG: T2G and 49/SG: P. Has made the cut in just 5 of the 9 DP World Tour events played thus far and has recorded T-10 or better finishes in 3 of them, including stops at Mauritius, the BMW Australian PGA and last week’s Volvo China Open. Across his 2026 DP World Tour season, he currently holds ranks of 55/Scoring Average, 56/Bogey Avoidance, 17/DD, 121/DA, 19/SG: T2G, 20/Scrambling, 47/Sand Saves and 93/SG: P.
Other Players of Interest:
Tom McKibbin – ($9,600):
Antoine Rozner – ($8,500):
Ugo Coussaud – ($7,700):
Kota Kaneko – ($7,600):
Tom Vaillant – ($7,500):
Darius Van Driel – ($7,400):
Kiradech Aphibarnrat – ($7,300):
Oihan Guillamoundeguy – ($6,900):
That is, it from here. Do not forget to track the Golf Channel – for updates. Best of Luck this week! Go win some money, even if the pools kind of suck.
–Nik (@MrGuruNick)
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