Armstrong and Conran both posted rounds of seven-under 65 in Monday’s opening round, two clear of Aaron Townsend (67) and Jordan Mullaney (67) with two-time ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia winner, Aaron Pike, one of six players at four-under 68.

Now based in Sydney, Armstrong hails originally from Canberra while James – whose father, veteran Tour player Steven Conran, shot 71 in Round 1 – is a product of Orange in the New South Wales Central West.

Vastly experienced around the Dubbo layout, Conran had five birdies along with an eagle at the par-5 12th in his round of seven under while Armstrong bounced back from a bogey at the par-4 second to peel off eight birdies and join Conran on top.

Armstrong, who shot 64 in the second round to finish fifth at Dubbo in 2021, is hoping a cooperative driver will allow him to back up a brilliant first round and go on with the job on Tuesday.

“To be honest, I didn’t hit driver that fantastic,” Armstrong said of his work from the tee on day one.

“I hit it pretty solid on holes where I needed to but there were a lot of spinny misses out to the right.

“I got lucky a couple of times with a couple of tee shots but was able to make the most of it.

“The scores here the last few years have been low. If I can try and hit driver just a little bit better, I’ll give myself some spots where I can be pretty aggressive with some wedges and make the most of some of the shorter par 4s and par 5s.

“Try and put a little bit of pressure on everyone else and try and get them to catch up with me.”

As many players took the opportunity to down tools over the Christmas period, Armstrong went searching for answers.

A quarter-final appearance at the Gippsland Super 6 was his only top 10 during the first half of the season, a frustrating period for a player chasing a breakthrough win on tour.

“I was feeling a bit frustrated with my game so I kept trying to put in a lot of hours and try and figure a few things out for the back-end of the season,” he said.

“I played very hit-and-miss through our last five week stretch on the tour, hence the reason I felt like I wanted to do a lot of work on the game.”

Winner of the 2021 Murray Open and a top-five finisher at Queanbeyan and Dubbo, the big-hitting Armstrong enjoys the opportunities that regional courses present.

“Most of the courses we play are in the country region and I don’t mind playing that style of golf,” Armstrong said of the Golf NSW Regional Open Series.

“I can be fairly aggressive off the tee and if I miss one wide enough then it becomes all right.”

The second and final round tees off at 7.30am AEDT on Tuesday with the group of Armstrong, Conran and Townsend to begin their round at 12.30pm.

Click here for Round 1 scores.

Click here for Round 2 draw.