Turkish Airlines Open: Day one digest

Lindberg produced a fast finish, defending champion Couvra was enjoying the challenge of a new venue and Schaper was glad to be back after a break in round one of the Turkish Airlines Open.

Here is everything you need to know from Thursday at National Golf Club.

Fast finish vaults Lindberg to the top

Mikael Lindberg produced a fast finish to card a blemish-free 66 and hold a one-shot lead after day one.

The Swede appeared unlikely to overtake early clubhouse pacesetters Alejandro Del Rey and Ewen Ferguson when he was level par for his opening eight holes, but four birdies across his closing six holes helped him hit the front at six under.

South African Daniel van Tonder also went bogey-free during the afternoon wave to card a 67 and make it a three-way tie for second on the leaderboard at the National Golf Club.

Lindberg was coming off the back of a career-best third-place finish in China last week and knows another good performance could earn him a spot at the US PGA Championship.

The Swede is eighth on the Asian Swing Rankings, with the top three after Türkiye receiving an invite to compete at Aronimink Golf Club from May 14-17.

“It was a very good day for sure,” he said. “Started off pretty slow though. I made a good few saves on the front nine and then knocked it close on 18 and from there, rolled in a few more.

“It’s pretty tricky. The greens are firming up a little bit so if you are a little bit offline it’s very difficult to get it close.

“I have been holing quite a lot of putts actually, struggling a bit on the greens lately but this week and last has been pretty good so hopefully it can continue.”

On a sunny day with minimal breeze and preferred lies in place, it was a low scoring day in Belek, Antalya, with 62 players in the field finishing under par.

New venue, no problem for Couvra on title defence

Martin Couvra claimed his first professional victory in Türkiye at Regnum Carya last year but, almost 12 months on, he is faced with a new test for his first defence of a DP World Tour title.

The 23-year-old spoke of his growing maturity on the eve of the tournament after a breakthrough debut season on the DP World Tour last year that saw him win the prestigious Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award.

This week is his 11th start of the 2026 season, and with three top tens to his name so far, the Frenchman was again demonstrating his talent with a bogey-free 68 to sit one adrift of the early pacesetters.

“It was a good round there," he said. "Really enjoyed it, really nice.

“The tournament is long, we still have three rounds to go. I am just happy with my first one here, bogey-free is always good."

"It’s quite different to the other one [Regnum Carya], more technical. I love it, it was really nice.

“You need to hit a lot of different shots, on the tee, irons. We have a lot of short irons, so I feel you need to shape the ball really well off the tee and after really focus on the irons."

Schaper shakes off the rust

Jayden Schaper is making his return to action after a seven-week break from competition since the Joburg Open.

Third in the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World, the South African is the best placed player in the field after a stunning start to the season that saw him win back-to-back titles in December.

During his time off, he has celebrated his 25th birthday and spent time back home with family and friends, enjoying some safari visits to the Kruger National Park.

“You don’t really get much time off nowadays so just to stay at home, spend time at home, see the girlfriend [was nice]," he said during an in-round interview.

"Back at home, I went to the bush a few times. I went with my dad, a couple of my mates a few times so it was just nice to see the animals [and] get your mind off everything.

“It’s still a long season ahead but it’s obviously nice to get off to a good, solid start to the season like that.

"[The focus] is to just stay consistent, keep competing and keep racking up the points and hopefully finish at the top of the Race to Dubai.”

After an opening two-under-par 70, it would be no surprise to see him in title contention as the week progresses.

"A little bit rusty after six weeks off but it was a nice, solid day," he said after closing with two birdies in his final three holes.

"Kept it quite solid on the front nine and then a nice birdie on ten, a couple of mistakes, but overall it's a nice, solid start."

No putter required

There was no doubting the shot of the day in Türkiye, with Matteo Manassero holing out for eagle from 146 yards at the par four sixth.

The Italian had begun his day with back-to-back bogeys, but he picked up four shots in a three-hole stretch thanks to his spectacular moment as he carded an opening xx.

The Italian wasn't the only one avoiding the need for a putter though, with some other pieces of short-game brilliance.

DP World Tour history is made

Teenager Yordan Yanakiev became the first Bulgarian to compete on the DP World Tour.

The 17-year-old, a tournament invite, opened with a 76.

Bulgaria is the 118th country to be represented on golf's Global Tour.

How to read greens with Romain Langasque

The Frenchman married break and pace to perfection to hole this birdie putt at the ninth.