Thursday 1st November
Our event of the day is Day 1 of the PGA European Tour Turkish Airlines Open at the Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort in Antalya, Turkey. Justin Rose looks to defend his 2017 title, a feat that would mark the first successful title defence of his career. Meanwhile, fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood will look for a strong performance in the tournament as he looks to close the gap at the top of the European Tour standings. Having entered the final stretch of the European Tour season, expect plenty of masterful golf from some of the best in the game. The Turkish Airlines Open is the third-to-last tournament on the PGA European Tour.
However, it represents the penultimate opportunity for the world’s golfers to earn enough points to qualify for the 60-strong field at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in mid-November. The real buzz comes from the race for first, that has realistically come down to two men – Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari. Fleetwood came into the 2018 tour as the defending champion, while his Ryder Cup teammate and close friend had finished in 9th in 2017. However, while Molinari has not had a dominant season, winning the prestigious BMW PGA Championship and the Open Championship helped propel him into first place with a comfortable lead. Coming into the Turkish Airlines Open, Fleetwood trails Molinari by 1,207,383 points, a sizeable but not impassable margin. However it means that Fleetwood must play his best golf across the final three tournaments. However, he is helped by the fact that Molinari will not play in Antalya, giving Fleetwood a chance to close the gap. Elsewhere in the tournament, Justin Rose sits in 10th in the overall standings and is without a title in the 2018 edition of the tour. However, he was part of the victorious European Ryder Cup and has enjoyed top-3 finishes in a number of PGA and European Tour tournaments this season as well as winning the FedEx Cup. It should be a great first day at the Turkish Airlines Open.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the NFL, where San Francisco 49ers host the Oakland Raiders at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Both teams have struggled immensely this season, each only winning a single game so far. The 49ers have felt the loss of talented quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who suffered a season-ending injury in week 3. Meanwhile, the Raiders have been left wanting after the departure of the core of their defence – Khalil Mack. Both teams also compete in divisions with arguably the two best teams in the NFL. The Raiders share a division with the 7-1 Chiefs while the 49ers are in the same division as the 8-0 Rams. This makes their seasons even harder. Both teams will come into tonight’s match looking to salvage something from their season. Elsewhere, in theNBA, the Milwaukee Bucks look to continue their perfect season as they travel to TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics. In the Carabao Cup, Manchester City host Fulham at the Etihad Stadium in the Round of 16. In the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators clash at Amalie Arena in a match between two teams enjoying plenty of early season success.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Fixture
Photos by European Tour
Originally published at www.fixturecalendar.com/blog. To see what else is happening in the world of sport use the Fixture Calendar.
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