Thorbjørn Olesen was pleased to see his hard work paying off after he fired an impressive opening 65 at the Turkish Airlines Open.
The Dane arrived at Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort having made just three of his last 12 cuts but returned to form with a bogey-free effort that left him just a shot behind first-round leader George Coetzee.
Despite his recent barren run, Olesen has had a productive 2016 with second-place finishes at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and BMW International Open helping him reach 38th on the Race to Dubai.
The 26 year old won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last season to propel himself into the reckoning for the Final Series and he is delighted to be in the end of season showcase again as his game comes together.
"I felt like the last few weeks, it's been really good," he said. "I felt like I played really, really nicely in Portugal and couldn't really get it going but felt like I was playing really well.
"Yesterday in the Pro-Am I was playing really, really well also, so I felt like something good was going to come soon. Hard work, that's always what it is in golf.
"When you are in these tournaments, you know you've had a pretty good year and you played well. The best guys on the European Tour are playing here, so it's great to be here in the Final Series."
Matteo Manassero is another man enjoying the Final Series as he battles to secure his place in next week's Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player.
Hard work, that's always what it is in golf - Thorbjørn Olesen
The Italian is currently 78th on the Race to Dubai and needs a good finish this week to force himself into the field for South Africa and potentially the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
An opening 66 left him two shots off the lead and the four-time European Tour winner is in no doubt of the task ahead of him this weekend.
"Obviously I need to get some good scores in to be able to continue in the Final Series and that's kind of the goal I set for myself," he said. "It's not really a goal that I obsess myself about but it's been a good season. It's been a season of many solid things after a bad one.
"So I'm happy to be here and I'm happy to have put a good round together. I hope I'm going to keep going to keep going in the Final Series."
