Josh Armstrong will spend his final moments of the school holidays chasing his second golf title in two weeks and a chance to secure a place at the NSW Open.
Canberra teenager Armstrong will be walking the fairways at Killara Golf Club and the Terrey Hills Golf and Country Club for the NSW Amateur title in Sydney while his mates prepare to restart school on Wednesday.
Josh Armstrong.Credit:Melissa Adams
Armstrong, 17, is still riding high after winning the Avondale Amateur title last week, where he beat England's Jack Singh Brar by just one shot.
He has already played in four tournaments in the first four weeks of the year, but he's determined to use the confidence gained in Avondale to take another trophy home before he starts studying for his final year at school.
"You enjoy the wins but I guess you've got a job to do as well and you have to stay switched on," Armstrong said.
"You put yourself in a lot of different situations playing tournament golf and that's what happens when you turn pro. So you have to learn when you're at my level so you're ready when you do turn pro.
"You develop a lot of confidence in yourself - being able to produce good shots or putts when you need to. It gives you the confidence that you can do it when a tournament is on the line."
Armstrong confirmed his standing as an Australian golf star on the rise when he won the Greg Norman Junior Masters on the Gold Coast in December.
He will also have playing stints in Europe and the United States later this year before returning to Canberra and aiming to break into Australia's biggest events.
The Burgmann College student has only spent a handful of his holidays in the capital as he travelled to tournaments around the country.
He struggled at Royal Melbourne to kickstart the year but made it to the final 16 at the Australian Amateur event, finished fourth at the South Australia junior masters and then won the Avondale event.
He hopes that form will continue when he joins a strong field at the NSW
"You've got to be patient and just wait to see how things pan out," Armstrong said.
"If you put yourself in a position [to win], you've got to work for it. School has been good at letting me have the first few days off, but then I'll be back in class the following week.
The NSW Amateur stroke event will be on Monday and Tuesday before a knock-out matchplay tournament for the top players from Wednesday to Friday.
Yowani's Thomas O'Rourke and the Federal Golf Club's Mark Hyde will also compete.
It will be Armstrong's final event of the Australian summer, with his next tournament set for for March.
Chris Dutton is the sports editor at The Canberra Times.