Share

Dubuisson wins Turkish Open

Belek -  France's Victor Dubuisson has upstaged some of golf's biggest stars including World No.1 Tiger Woods to win the inaugural Turkish Airlines Open in Belek on Sunday.

Dubuisson, 23, shot a final round 69 to claim a first ever European Tour victory by two shots with a 24-under par tally in southern Turkey.

Jamie Donaldson posted a nine under par 63 for second place at 22-under par as England's Justin Rose hit a last day 64 to share third place on 20-under with Woods, who birdied four of his closing five holes in a five-under 67.

Current European No. 1 Henrik Stenson shot a 69 for a share of seventh place at 18-under par.

Former World No. 1 ranked amateur Dubuisson headed into the last round with a resounding five shot cushion but was virtually speechless in learning the enormity of his success on the Maxx Royal course.

The Cannes-born player earned a 848,930-euro first prize cheque and the big step of moving from 108th to inside the top-40 on the world rankings.

"It is just so great to win, and I just didn't realise just what it means to win a big tournament that included Tiger, Stenson, Justin Rose, as they were all in contention with me today," he said.

"So it is a great feeling, and I'm really proud of what I did because it was the toughest golf day of my life.

"I struggled early and not managing to make my first birdie to the 10th hole. I was also watching the leader board and I could see all the good players coming back to me.

"But then my caddy said to me that if I make one or two birdies near the end I would be fine, so then to hole that 25-foot putt for birdie on 17 and to make the eight-footer on the last was very special."

Dubuisson was showered in champagne by countryman Julien Quesne, Gregory Bourdy and Gregory Havret while he was full of praise for final round playing partner and fellow Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin.

"Of course, Raphael and I are very good friends but on the first tee we were rivals but when he knew he couldn't win he was very encouraging and helping calm me down," said Dubuisson.

And when Dubuisson was quizzed who was his golfing idol he responded: "He was playing in the group ahead of me. Tiger Woods."

Welshman Donaldson drew level at 22-under par with Dubuisson when he had a hole-in-one at the par three 16th that earned him one million air miles courtesy of the title sponsor.

Woods, meanwhile, was returning home to Florida ahead of his final event of the year and his own World Challenge commencing on December 5.

"I said 20-under par was going to win this week and it kind of ended up being that way," he said.

"I've enjoyed coming here again to Turkey and while this year was totally different format to last year, this was a fun tournament.

"It was different in the fact that you had to make so many birdies.

"So I'm now hanging up the clubs for a little bit, so it's going to be nice."

Woods will return to the event next year as part of a three-year deal he signed with the Turkish Golf Federation while he will commence 2014 in the 25th anniversary Dubai Desert Classic on January 30.

Stenson, who shot a 69 to share seventh place on 18-under par, heads to next week's Race to Dubai finale still leading the money list.

The Swede has seen his lead slashed from 343,866 euro to 213,468 euro over Rose who has moved into second place ahead of the absent Graeme McDowell.

And the leading four contenders for the European No. 1 title, including Poulter who is fourth, are now separated by 343,906 euro and with a first prize cheque next week of 1.1m euro.

However Stenson's right wrist continues to cause concern and he is also considering withdrawing from this week's Pro-Am as he did ahead of the recent BMW Masters in Shanghai.

"I want to give my wrist a full two days rest and just do light practice, so it is going to affect my preparations but it's been like that for three weeks, so I just do the best I can," he said.

Leading scores after the fourth and final round of the Turkish Airlines Open at the Maxx Royal Course in Belek on Sunday (par 72, GBR & IRL unless stated):
264 - Victor Dubuisson (FRA) 67 65 63 69
266 - Jamie Donaldson 68 67 68 63
268 - Tiger Woods (USA) 70 63 68 67, Justin Rose 70 66 67 65
269 - Ian Poulter 66 66 68 69, Raphael Jacquelin (FRA) 67 72 62 68
270 - Marc Warren 69 70 66 65, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 68 72 66 64, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 64 68 69 69
271 - Ross Fisher 68 68 70 65, Justin Walters (RSA) 66 66 70 69
272 - Paul Casey 66 73 67 66, George Coetzee (RSA) 66 71 68 67, Julien Quesne (FRA) 67 69 68 68
273 - Chris Wood 69 70 65 69, Thomas Aiken (RSA) 71 67 66 69, Darren Fichardt (RSA) 64 73 71 65
274 - Robert Jan Derksen (NED) 67 69 69 69, Richie Ramsay 70 69 71 64, Garth Mulroy (RSA) 70 69 66 69, Maximilian Kieffer (GER) 66 73 68 67, Joost Luiten (NED) 72 70 65 67, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 64 72 71 67, Alejandro Canizares (ESP) 67 68 66 73

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2249 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE