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Italy’s Gregorio De Leo moved into the lead at the Turkish Airlines Open 2026 on Friday after finishing the second round at seven under par in Antalya.
The two final rounds will continue without Turkish representation, after all four local golfers missed the cut.
The DP World Tour event, part of the Asian Swing, is being held at Regnum National Golf Club in Belek, a tourism hub in Antalya’s Serik district.
The four-day tournament began with 156 golfers from 32 countries, including four players from Türkiye, and will conclude on Sunday, May 3.
De Leo completed the second day with a total score of 137, or seven under par, after carding a second round 68 with five birdies and one bogey. His performance put him one shot ahead of a four-player group sharing second place at six under.
Spain’s Alejandro Del Rey, New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori, England’s Sam Bairstow, and Sweden’s Jens Dantorp ended the second round on 138, leaving the leaderboard tightly packed before the final two rounds.
Gregorio De Leo’s lead came despite a difficult start to his week in Türkiye. The 26-year-old Italian arrived in Antalya on Wednesday and did not play a practice round before the tournament began.
“It’s kind of tricky because I got here on Wednesday, so I didn’t even have a practice round,” De Leo said, according to AAP.
“I didn’t know how the course was playing, so I’m really glad that my caddy, Adam, helped me out,” he added. “He was driving me around the course because I didn’t know anything about it. But it has worked out.”
Golf Digest Middle East reported that this is De Leo’s first 36-hole lead on the DP World Tour. The Italian is chasing his first DP World Tour title after regaining his playing privileges through Qualifying School. He previously won the Alps Tour Order of Merit in 2022.
New Zealand’s Kobori also moved strongly into contention with a four under par 68, climbing to within one shot of the lead. First round leader Mikael Lindberg of Sweden, who had opened the tournament with a 66, slipped to solo sixth at five under after a second round 73.
The cut was made after the second round, with the top 65 players earning the right to compete in the final two days of the tournament.
All four Turkish golfers exited the tournament after finishing outside the cut line. Leon Acikalin ended on 149, or five over par, in 118th place. Taner Yamac and Ibrahim Tarik Aslan both finished on 155, or 11 over par, in 147th place, while Mutlu Guner ended on 157, or 13 over par, in 152nd place.
The tournament carries a total prize fund of $2.75 million, with the champion set to receive $467,000.
The Turkish Airlines Open is the fourth and final counting event on the DP World Tour’s Asian Swing.
The top three players in the Asian Swing rankings at the end of the week will earn places at next month’s U.S. PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club.
The third round began at 7 a.m. local time on Saturday, with De Leo grouped alongside Del Rey and Kobori.
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