Ladies golf tour

ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News


Garanti Bank will be the main sponsor of the Turkey leg of the Ladies European Tour (LET), to be held May 6-11 at the National Golf Club in Belek, Antalya.

The event's title has been changed to “The Garanti American Express Turkish Open.” The Garanti American Express Turkish Open golf tournament will be attended by 120 of the best women golfers from 30 countries.

“We are very happy to support this prestigious event which will provide the best kind of publicity for Turkey,” said Nafiz Karadere, Garanti Bank's deputy general manager. “We believe that this tournament is very important to promote the popularity of golf in Turkey. It will also help Turkey reinforce its position as an important European golfing destination.”

Garanti Payment Systems' CEO, Mehmet Sezgin, said American Express has sponsored many international golf tournaments in the past. “But now we are lending our name to an important international tournament to be held in Turkey,” he said. “We are pleased to turn the long-standing professional cooperation between American Express and Garanti into sponsorships.”

The president of the National Golf Club, Bülent Göktuna, pointed out that the tournament is a groundbreaking event for Turkey. “Such a prestigious tournament will present a wonderful opportunity both as a representation of Turkey and golf tourism,” he said.



120 women golfers in Belek

In May, 120 top women golf players from 30 countries will participate in The Garanti American Express Turkish Open, the Turkey leg of the Ladies European Tour (LET), one of the most important golfing events in the world. The Garanti American Express Turkish Open, to be staged at the National Golf Club, is also sponsored by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the most important golfing institution in the world. The National Golf Club is the first golf club in Turkey to have earned an ISO 9001-2000 quality certificate.

Three Turkish golfers will be participating in The Garanti American Express Turkish Open with wildcards, giving Necla Gerçek, Elçin Ulu and Müzeyyen Şaşmaz the opportunity to play against some of the world's leading golfers.

Martina Eberl, 26, a LET player and winner of 2007 Madrid Ladies Masters earlier visited Belek and admired the course, calling it "challenging and exciting."

"This is my first time in Turkey and I am really impressed,” said Eberl, who played a round at the course on March 2. “The course is really good, it is very challenging. I believe that the event in May will be a major success.”