Former world number one Rory McIlroy discovered the perfect solution to his putting problems as the Turkish Airlines Open got under way in Antalya on Thursday.
McIlroy believes his putting has held him back since returning from the ankle injury which ruled him out of the Scottish Open and the defence of his Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational titles this summer.
The 26-year-old admitted it was more of a mental than a technical problem after finishing 26th in the Frys.com Open a fortnight ago and has been working on simplifying his routine.
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But after missing from 25 feet for birdie on his first hole in Turkey, the four-time major winner did not even need to get his putter out of the bag on the par-five 11th, chipping in from just off the green for a birdie.
At one under par, McIlroy was two shots off the early lead shared by six players, including English trio David Howell, Chris Wood and Richard Bland, with playing partners Danny Willett and Shane Lowry level par.
McIlroy has a lead of 271,214 points over Willett as he looks to win the Race to Dubai for the third time in four years, although the first prize in each of the four Final Series events is more than 1.3million