Matthias Schwab maintained his impressive recent form with a seven-under-par round of 65 to share the lead after the opening round of the Turkish Airlines Open at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal.

The Austrian is making his second Turkish Airlines Open appearance, having finished in a share of 18th place at last year’s tournament and began his latest campaign in real style with a birdie on the first and an eagle on four.

Three birdies on the back nine, including one on the last, left him with a 65, just days after he finished fourth at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China.

Schwab said: “Overall it was a good day, a really nice start. I’m just trying to play as well as I can. It was a very good round for me. 

“I got off to a nice start, five under through eight, and managed to keep the momentum going on the back nine. I was hitting it nicely and made a few putts. 

Englishman Tom Lewis had a back nine of 31 with four straight birdies to finish to join Schwab at seven under.

American David Lipsky started with five birdies in six and ended the day at six under along with Thomas Pieters and Alex Noren.

Defending champion Justin Rose birdied his final three holes for a five-under par first round of 67 and he is on the same mark as 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett and Joost Luiten.

Willett is enjoying his time in Antalya and said: “It’s a great week, family week. The hotel is 200 yards away. It's fantastic. The weather as it is; the golf course is pretty scorable, so it's good fun. 

“I don't think you'll see loads of guys out there grinding too much afterwards. It's a brilliant way to finish the year, these last three events on The European Tour, here, Sun City and Dubai are all amazing events. 

“It’s nice to come here. We've got the family here, and you kind of take it for what it is. We are trying to get some work done because we are in a position, we have a strong finish, we can have a good Race to Dubai position at the end of the year.”