Ambitious Turkey eyes 2022 Ryder Cup following success of the Turkish Airlines Open

Financial muscle and the patronage of Tiger Woods, plus the success of the Turkish Airlines Open, has encouraged Turkey to make a bid to host the 2022 Ryder Cup

Having repeatedly been kicked back in its attempts to stage the Olympic Games, Turkey is confident that it can land the Ryder Cup. Discussions took place last week at the Turkish Airlines Open, with both the country’s golf federation and its ambitious airline determined to host the biennial match between Europe and America. The interest is being taken seriously by the European Tour, which appreciates the levels of finance at Turkey’s disposal. With the European economy still struggling, Turkey has proven such a welcome addition to the marketplace. It lured Tiger Woods to play in the unofficial matchplay event last year and again this year as the Montgomerie Maxx Royal in Belek was the scene for a $7  million (£4.4 million) event which also featured in its 78-man field some of the cream of European golf. The $2.8 million (£1.75 million) paid to Woods simply to turn up should signify the intent of this fledgling golfing nation to put itself on the map, as does the fact that Turkey is favourite to take over from Dubai as the destination for the Tour’s grand season-ender when the contract runs out in two years’ time. Ahmet Agaoglu, the president of the Turkish Golf Federation, views that as the stepping stone to winning the game’s biggest event. “We are candidates for the Race to Turkey in 2016 – and what comes after that? The Ryder Cup,” he said. “We have the idea to host the Ryder Cup in 2022. We will bid for that. Either in Istanbul or Antalya.” The Tour is expected to invite formal bids soon after next year’s match at Gleneagles and when asked about Turkey’s chances of following Paris in 2018, George O’Grady, the Tour’s chief executive, was positive. “Turkey would have as good a chance as anywhere,” O’Grady said. “We have been staggered by the success of this tournament. This is a country where anything is possible.” The one stumbling block is the venue. While the Antalya region, with its vast array of hotels as well as championship courses, would be the obvious choice it is in Asia and O’Grady intimated that the Ryder Cup would almost certainly have to be held in Europe. Agaoglu does not believe this would be a problem. “Turkey is in Europe,” he said. “But if we need to, we can build a course on the European side of Istanbul.” Chubby Chandler, who was instrumental in setting up the Turkish Airlines Open, revealed that there were rich investors who wanted to see the emergence of a world-class golfing venue near the capital. “And there’s plenty of time to build one before 2022,” Chandler said. Woods’s patronage could be crucial. Telegraph Sport reported on Monday that he had signed a three-year deal with Turkish Airlines to play in its event and that the airline was considering adding Woods to its portfolio of individual sponsorships which also included the Barcelona footballer, Lionel Messi. With the financial might and the will for a country with a population of 74 million to grow the sport, Turkey would appear to tick every Ryder Cup box. Woods is not the only big-name player to be seduced by the country. The constant clicking of mobile phone cameras apart, Ian Poulter was impressed by what he encountered when tieing for fifth behind Victor Dubuisson, of France, on Sunday. “Turkey does it well,” Poulter said. “They did it well last week. Last year was a small event with only eight players, this year was much bigger and it worked. They’re prepared to do what it takes – they’ve asked us already what they need to do to make it better. It’s a great place for people to come to play golf. The hotels are fabulous. There’s quite a few golf courses now, so I can only see things getting busier over this side. “It’s exciting. Anywhere east of America that’s prepared to be putting some extra money in right now is certainly a big help for Europe with some of the tournaments that have been lost over the last couple years. It’s great that a place like Turkey is doing it good.” Poulter plays in the DP World Tour Championship pro-man on Tuesday as he prepares for the event which could see him leap from third to first in the standings and so claim the coveted Harry Vardon Trophy presented to the Order of Merit winner. Henrik Stenson, who is setting the pace in the Race to Dubai, has pulled out of the pro-am because of an injury to his right wrist. However, Stenson expects to tee up in Thursday’s first round.