Two weeks after struggling to break 90, Miguel Angel Jimenez carded a flawless 63 to claim the lead after the first round of the £4.5million Turkish Airlines Open.

Jimenez shot a final round of 88 in the first event of the Final Series, the BMW Masters, in Shanghai and also struggled in the following week's HSBC Champions event to be a total of 33 over par for his last eight rounds.

But the oldest winner in European Tour history - he will celebrate his 51st birthday in January -bounced back brilliantly in Antalya by holing his second shot to the opening hole for an eagle and adding seven birdies to lead Ian Poulter by a shot at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal.

Scots Stephen Gallacher and Marc Warren shot 67 while Colin Montgomerie - playing his 600th European Tour event on the course he designed - hit a 76.

"It's a good start. It's nice making a low score, it's been a while," said Jimenez, who holed out from 105 yards on the 10th. "It's special because I've been struggling a little bit the last few months and (when) you shoot under par, you feel good."

Poulter felt his second round of 67 last week was the best he had played in an injury-plagued year, but admitted after his 64: "I'd say that might just top it. It was good golf.

"I took care of the par fives really nicely today, six under on the par fives, which is always a key to scoring well, especially when you've got five of them."

Low scoring was the order of the day as 50 of the 78-strong field broke par, but the three players attempting to prevent Rory McIlroy being crowned European No.1 for the second time in two years struggled.

Sergio Garcia, Ryder Cup team-mate Jamie Donaldson and Germany's Marcel Siem can still overtake McIlroy at the top of the Race to Dubai, but only if they win both in Turkey and next week's season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

Siem's 70 was the best the trio could manage, although the BMW Masters winner was five under par after 12 holes, with Donaldson falling back from three under to level par and Garcia on 75.

Meanwhile, Turkey has performed a U-turn and will bid to host the biennial Ryder Cup matches in 2022 after all, but Denmark has dropped out of the selection process.