Antalya - Matthias Schwab and Tom Lewis shared the lead after the first round of the Turkish Open on Thursday with hat-trick seeker Justin Rose handily placed.
Three late birdies helped Olympic champion Rose sign for a five-under-par 67, two shots off his fellow Englishman Lewis and Schwab of Austria.
Ryder Cup winners Alex Noren and Thomas Pieters were tied for third with American David Lipsky on 66.
"I guess it's job done," said the 39-year-old former world number one Rose, who could join a select group of Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam and Colin Montgomerie as the only players to win a regular European Tour event three years in a row.
"The hot finish was exactly what we needed. I was aware of the leaderboard. Obviously it was a perfect day to play golf as it normally is here in Turkey and I could see the lads going low."
Schwab, 24, is seeking his European Tour breakthrough after nine top-10 finishes this season.
"I'm just trying to give it my best," he said.
"Every time I tee it up, it seems to be working well the last few months but I have no recipe."
Leading and selected first-round scores from the European Tour's Turkish Open at Antalya on Thursday (par 72/GBR & IRL unless stated):
65 - Matthias Schwab (AUT), Tom Lewis
66 - Alex Noren (SWE), Thomas Pieters (BEL), David Lipsky (USA)
67 - Justin Rose, Danny Willett, Joost Luiten (NED), Scott Jamieson, Thomas Detry (BEL), Benjamin Hebert (FRA)
68 - Edoardo Molinari (ITA), Matthew Southgate, Victor Perez (FRA), Joachim B Hansen (DEN), Jorge Campillo (ESP), Tyrrell Hatton, Richie Ramsay, Andrea Pavan (ITA), Jason Scrivener (AUS), Aaron Rai
Selected:
70 - Martin Kaymer (GER), Eddie Pepperell
71 - Francesco Molinari (ITA), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Patrick Reed (USA), Lee Westwood, Shubhankar Sharma (IND)
72 - Shane Lowry
73 - Li Haotong (CHN)
74 - Matt Wallace
75 - Padraig Harrington