Rory McIlroy credited a remarkable par save at the 18th as the catalyst for his round as he began his Turkish Airlines Open campaign with a 67.
The Race to Dubai leader started at the tenth and got off to a good start with a chip in at the 11th but then recorded six straight pars and looked set to drop a shot on the 18th when his drive went left and ended up in awkward position against a tree.
But the four time Major winner got inventive and played out left-handed before leaving his third shot short, chipping to ten feet and making his par putt.
Birdies followed at the first, third, fourth and seventh as McIlroy ended the day six shots behind leader Jaco Van Zyl and he was satisfied with his effort at The Montgomerie Maxx Royal.
"I thought it was good," he said. "I felt like my game came together a lot more on our back nine, which is the front nine of this course. I felt like it was okay.
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 - Rory McIlroy
"I seem to have to play (left-handed shots) more often than I want to. As long as I don't break my wrists and I keep straight arms, I have good enough hand-eye coordination that I'm pretty sure I'm not going to miss it."
He added: Overall, I'm pretty pleased about everything today. I said to (caddie) 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."
McIlroy leads Danny Willett by 271,214 points in The Race to Dubai coming into The Final Series as he aims to keep his title as Europe's Number One.
The Northern Irishman also finished top of the pile in 2012 and knows a first European Tour win since the World Golf Championships - Cadillac Match Play in May would go a long way to sealing a third crown.
"Coming into these three weeks, it's about trying to win The Race to Dubai," he said. "I'd like to win a tournament first and foremost, try and get another win under my belt this year.
"It would be nice to go to Dubai with another win under my belt, so whether it's this week or in China next week, I feel like I've set myself up for a good three days to have a run at it this week.
"I've done it 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 The Race to Dubai again. It would be another great achievement to put on my CV."
