One seems to be reliving in a way what happened on the eve of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro when the defections of some of the great figures of golf began to happen. Now it is Turkey’s turn. The first of the great desertions was Tiiger Woods, who delayed his planned return and decided not to compete in the Turkish Airlines Open, which takes place this week. Now it is Rory McIlroy who has announced his withdrawal from the Turkish tournament, the first of the three major final events that will determine the winner of the Race to Dubai on the European Tour.
The Northern Irish player left no doubt as to the reason for his defection when asked about it: “I think it’s obvious,” he said, referring to Turkey’s insecure security situation due to terrorism. The car bomb explosion last week at the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the series of deadly bomb attacks over the past 18 months (attributed to Kurdish rebels or Islamic State militants), coupled with the U.S. State Department’s travel warning on Turkey advising Americans to “avoid travel to southeastern Turkey and carefully consider the risks of travel to that country, have contributed to this.” The tournament will begin tomorrow at the Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort in Antalya.
McIlroy said he had ”slept much better” after deciding not to go. Others who have also pulled out at the last minute are American Patrick Reed, who would have to compete in Turkey in order to maintain his European Tour card, and current leader of the Dubai Race, Henrik Stenson.
At the moment the list of players for the Turkish Airlines includes only three from the top ten of the Race to Dubai rankings: Danny Willett (2), Tyrrell Hatton (5) and Lee Westwood (10).
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