Boyd shot 8-under 55 in Round 1 on Saturday to edge James Mee (56) by a single stroke with Nathan Page (57) and Tim Hart (57) a shot further back in a tie for third.

Joint winner with John Lyras at Bowen just a few days ago, Boyd wielded his new clubs that he put in the bag prior to Townsville to great effect, opening his round with three straight birdies.

There would be six more over the course of his round and a lone bogey at the par-3 16th at the 16-hole Sarina layout.

“I got a new set of clubs at Townsville and put them straight in the bag,” said Boyd.

“I hadn’t really done any testing with them and they were sort of there at Townsville, but hadn’t really dialled them in yet.

“Had a few days off before Bowen and got my numbers and started to feel comfortable with them.

“I felt like I had a lot of good numbers again today. Started with three in a row and just had perfect numbers into each and they were sort of all tap in. Felt like I did that most of the day.”

In his second year on Tour and with a win at Portsea earlier in the year, Boyd says he has returned to the North Queensland swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series a more confident player.

“Last year was my first year out on Tour and I was a bit of a deer in headlights really,” he admitted.

“I thought my game was good enough, and it probably was, but in terms of just playing in the afternoon field and seeing guys shoot such low scores morning and afternoon, event after event, I probably wasn’t in the right mindset.

“I feel a bit more comfortable with it now and I think that’s just what you’ve got to do to compete, especially in this North Queensland swing.”

Round 1 scores