The Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup Amateur Series offers amateurs around the world the chance to win a ticket to Antalya.
Let’s start by assessing what was on the line:
- Participation in the Grand Final of the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup
- Round Trip Business Class flights to Antalya with Turkish Airlines
- 8 nights*, all-inclusive at the 5-star hotel in Antalya
- Hospitality at the Turkish Airlines Open
The event has quickly become one of the most sought-after amateur tickets in the world. What began in 2013 with just 12 events has spiraled into the largest global amateur golf series with 64 events across 100 countries and over 8,000 players.
The winner of the grand final has been paired with the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood.
My shot at glory – at the second leg of the series held at Pearl Valley – was over almost before it began. There would be no round with Tiger and Rory. Not this year at least.
There’s something special about individual competition, there’s no one to back you up, no dove-tailing and no one except yourself to blame.
Pearl Valley is the perfect setting as a wide range of golf and travel colleagues set about trying to book their spot on the plane to Antalya. The course has handled, and continues to handle, the drought admirably – the greens in perfect shape and the tee boxes in as good a condition as you will ever find them.
Back to my shot… starting on the 7th hole was never going to be kind. It’s an integral part on the hardest section of the course with the stroke 3 being backed up by the stroke 1 – the inviting water hazard separating the two fairways. I missed the hazard on both occasions, but could not evade Jack Nicklaus’ well-positioned bunkers. It’s hard to score points, no matter the handicap, when you are spending more time on the beach than the average tourist to Cape Town over the festive season.
Golf never ceases to amaze me as the gent joining me in my cart for the day continued to accumulate points far quicker than me. While the handicap difference was only 3, the age difference was a whopping 44 years. Side note: maybe my handicap should be lower after all.
He continued to find fairway after fairway and two-putt his way to 2 pointers or on occasion getting up and down for three. A birdie at the 14th was a highlight – for him that is, as he putted in from well off the green. My lip out meant I settled for par and a two-point difference between the two of us.
As the round progressed, I continued to find more and more bunkers – usually off the tee but not limited to greenside hazards too, and my cart colleague continued to work his way around the course in superb fashion. Neither of us were close to the winning points tally – a huge 43 points!
But we both had a great time as we made our way into the banquet area for dinner – a taste of the hospitality the lucky winner is set to experience as he waits patiently for the months to wind down to his special trip.
Photo: Pearl Valley
