Van Zyl leads with 11-under 61 in Turkey
 
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South African Jaco Van Zyl produced the lowest round of his European Tour career – a sublime 11 under par 61 – in the first round of the Turkish Airlines Open, where Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood also made promising starts.
Van Zyl racked up nine birdies and an eagle at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal in Antalya, including five in his last six holes, which would have set a new course record had preferred lies not been in operation after heavy rain last week.
Westwood was his closest challenger, the Englishman firing an impressive eight under par 64 – his best round of the season – to lie second, while his compatriot Chris Wood is third thanks to a 66.
McIlroy, the current Race to Dubai leader, opened with a five under par 67 to join a group of seven players sharing fourth spot, picking up four shots on the way in after reaching the turn in one under.
The Turkish Airlines Open is the first of four lucrative events comprising the Race to Dubai’s Final Series. With eight million points on offer at each, heads to the WGC-HSBC Champions and the BMW Masters, both in Shanghai, before the season finale, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
Quotes
Jaco Van Zyl
“I played really nicely, and honestly I thought four under par around here was a good score. I got it going early in the round and just kept it going. It was really good fun. I’ve had lower scores but not on a golf course of this calibre. 
"I made about a 60-foot putt on 11 and looked over at my caddie, John, and said ‘I can't remember the last time we made a snake like that’. I've been hitting it really nicely for months now, but I’ve been really struggling with the short game, putting in particular. I put a little bit more effort and time into it this week, and I think I've found the one.”
Lee Westwood
“I hit the ball close a lot and was just really solid. I didn't play the par fives as well as I'd like - I was only one under - but all in all it was a good round of golf. I aimed at the flag a lot and could have holed two or three shots out there with my irons. Obviously I want to play well and solidify my spot in the top 50 in the world. A good finish to the year will certainly give me confidence. I haven't played very well this year at all, but it's not been a completely disastrous year by any means. But I want next year to be better.”
Chris Wood
“I've been hitting the ball nicely, nice and consistent and just waiting for that week where it all comes together. At the start of the year, I didn't know how I was going to return after quite a serious injury in my wrist. The year has turned out brilliant, with a win in Austria and some other good finishes. I’m looking to finish the year strongly.”
Rory McIlroy
“I was sort of trying to find my rhythm a little bit for the first few holes and then I actually made a good par save on 18 which gave me some momentum going into the front nine. I hit a lot of quality shots on the front nine and gave myself a lot of looks and holed some putts. Overall, I’m pretty pleased about everything today. I said to JP after I holed the putt on three that it was probably the longest putt I've holed in about four months. So it was nice to see a few putts go in like that and it definitely gives me some confidence going into the next three days. I've won the Race to Dubai twice before and it’s always been a huge thrill, and Dubai has been a very good place for me throughout my career. It would be great to go to Dubai and win it again. It would be another great achievement to put on my CV.”

FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
61 J Van Zyl (RSA) ,
64 L Westwood (Eng) ,
66 C Wood  (Eng) ,
67 R McIlroy  (Nir) , R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) , B Wiesberger  (Aut) , K Aphibarnrat (Tha) , J Quesne  (Fra) , R Bland (Eng) , F Zanotti (Par) ,
68 L Slattery (Eng) , R Jacquelin (Fra) , L Bjerregaard  (Den) , P Uihlein  (USA) , S Lowry  (Irl) , T Aiken (RSA) ,
69 J Campillo (Esp) , V Dubuisson  (Fra) , D Drysdale (Sco) , G Bourdy (Fra) , A Cañizares  (Esp) , M Fraser (Aus) , T Hatton (Eng) , A Levy (Fra) , T Jaidee (Tha) , I Poulter (Eng) , D Willett  (Eng) ,
70 B Hebert  (Fra) , J Lagergren (Swe) , R Wattel  (Fra) , M Madsen  (Den) , A Johnston (Eng) , A Noren  (Swe) , M Carlsson  (Swe) , J Morrison  (Eng) , B An (SKor) , R Karlberg  (Swe) , D Howell (Eng) , T Fisher Jnr (RSA) , D Lipsky (USA) , G McDowell  (Nir) ,
71 S Gallacher (Sco) , T Olesen (Den) , C Schwartzel  (RSA) , J Donaldson (Wal) , R Green (Aus) , M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) , K Broberg (Swe) , T Fleetwood  (Eng) , M Kieffer (Ger) , G Storm  (Eng) , P Larrazábal (Esp) ,
72 M Hoey  (Nir) , M Ilonen  (Fin) , T Bjørn (Den) , S Kjeldsen (Den) , J Luiten (Ned) , R Rock (Eng) , L Haotong (Chn) , T Pieters  (Bel) , E De La Riva  (Esp) ,
73 A Wall (Eng) , M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) , G Havret  (Fra) , R Ramsay  (Sco) , D Horsey (Eng) , P Edberg (Swe) , A Altuntas (am) (Tur) ,
74 G Stal  (Fra) , M Siem  (Ger) , S Akarsu (am) (Tur) ,
75 D Clarke (Nir) ,
76 A Sullivan (Eng) , R Fisher (Eng) ,
77 J Daly (USA) , E Kemaloglu (am) (Tur) ,
78 M Jiménez (Esp) ,
79 M Warren (Sco) ,

 
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