Ryan Ruffels' stocks are clearly on the rise. So much so, three-time US Masters champion Phil Mickelson is trying to lure the 16-year-old to play for his old university, Arizona State.
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Former US Masters runner-up Jack Newton says Ruffels is on a par with a young Jason Day – who he rates as the most talented Australian junior he has ever seen.
Ruffels, a former Royal Canberra member, is back in town to play the Federal Amateur Open Championship, which starts on Friday, where he hopes to go one better than last year's runner-up finish.
He might still be an amateur and studying year 11, but Ruffels has a who's who of golf as contacts, having played rounds with world No.1 Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott.
Now he can add Mickelson to that list after the former world No. 2 called him out of the blue on Wednesday to try to lure him to Arizona.
The Melbourne-based junior now has a trip to the US next month to meet Mickelson after taking the chance to question him about his five major victories.
"I was out here putting and I got this call from an international number and I jumped on my phone and he said, 'Hey, it's Phil Mickelson,' " Ruffels said.
"I thought one of my mates from school was giving me a prank call.
"We chatted for an hour and I'm just starting to get some exposure to those big players and it's great.
"They've obviously won majors and that's something I'm trying to do when I'm older, so learning the ropes from them is pretty cool."
Born in the US, Ruffels moved to Canberra when he was 11 – when his father got a job as the Australian Institute of Sport tennis coach – and he spent a couple of years tearing up the fairways at Royal Canberra before moving to Victoria.
While his resume has a way to go to rival Mickelson's, it is starting to be pretty impressive in its own right.
He won the World Junior 15-17 boys title in July and finished fourth in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship last month.
Ruffels also became one of the youngest players to earn a top-25 finish at the Australian Open – where he developed a bond with McIlroy.
Newton, who has a foundation dedicated to developing junior Australian golfers, rates him as a prodigious talent.
He said world No. 8 Day was the most talented junior he had seen come through the Australian ranks, but felt Ruffels was on a par.
"I think he's outstanding ... Ruffels is an extremely good talent," Newton said.
"Ryan Ruffels is a tall lean kid who can belt it out there, and he's got a good temperament.
"He's going places, he's still only 16. He's probably close to being as good as [Day] was. We'll just see what happens in the next couple of years because I saw Jason Day when he was about 17 at that stage.
"[Day] was just well schooled, technique was good and I think they're the two guys we're going to hear a lot of in the future.
"But predicting the future of juniors, you just can't tell and probably sometimes the pressure that's put on them is just too heavy.
"I hope that won't be the case with Ruffels because he is only 16, but knowing him and knowing his father as well as I do – he's got a good family background and I think [his father] Ray will keep his feet on the ground so he doesn't fly away."
Ruffels wants to win the Federal Amateur and use it as a springboard into the Australian Masters in Melbourne from November 20 and then the Australian Open in Sydney a week later.
Federal Amateur Open Championship: At Federal Golf Club, Friday and Saturday from 7am, Sunday from 6.30am. Entry is free.
