As a boy, he dreamt of winning Wimbledon. As a precocious teenage golf talent, Ryan Ruffels is eyeing a place in next year’s British Open field after continuing his remarkable Australian Open debut on Saturday.
The 15-year-old son of former Australian Davis Cup tennis player Ray Ruffels followed up his five-under-par 67 on Friday with a cracking 68 to catch the attention of even the biggest names at Royal Sydney.
“For a 15-year-old to come out and play the way he’s been playing is pretty impressive,” said three-time major runner-up Jason Day.
“I remember when I was 15, I wasn’t ready to play in the Australian Open, let alone shoot five-under yesterday and then play good again today.”
Ruffels actually stormed into the top 10 late in his round before coming unstuck with a double-bogey five on the par-3 17th.
“I can’t let that bother me too much,” he said.
“That happens. I’ve had a few lucky breaks this week and that was an unlucky one.”
Ruffels refuses to get ruffled because he’s played his last 47 holes in 11-under par after making a disastrous start to the championship.
He plans to remain upbeat on Sunday, hoping to shoot even lower in a daring bid to qualify for golf’s most prestigious tournament next year.
“Four-under was the worst score by far I could have shot today,” Ruffels said.
“I missed two three-footers and a couple of 10-footers.
“So I’ve got to go out tomorrow and make a few birdies – that double probably cost me being in contention – so I’ve got to shoot eight, nine, 10-under or something to give myself top three.
“It would be good to get a spot in the Open as well for top three.”
Ruffels credits Rory McIlroy for helping him believe he belongs alongside the pros after forging a friendship with the Northern Irish superstar during a pre-tournament practice round.
“I saw him up at lunch yesterday and he asked me to sit next to him. He’s just so nice and so helpful,” Ruffels said.
“You get a few of the tour pros that like to intimidate you a little bit, but he’s completely the opposite.
“He wants to make me feel comfortable and I was able to hit it pretty good with him, keep up with him a little bit, which gave me a bit of confidence.
“Obviously he’s playing pretty good this week so it’s good to know that my best is not too far off their best.”