Ryan Ruffels has just finished a putting session on the practice green at Royal Pines on Queensland's Gold Coast when he ambles over to talk about the future. Not so much the next week or the next year, but five or six years down the track, when his professional career has had enough time to bloom.
"We have a pretty good goal in mind for where I want to be when I am 22, 23," Ruffels says. 
"If I can work hard and trust the people around me, which I do, then being one of the top five players in the world is pretty achievable.
"In Australia you get knocked down, as if it is almost arrogance, but I think you would be silly if you weren't aiming for No 1 in the world. I don't know what you would be out here for. I was talking to my caddie the other day and he said when Tiger (Woods) came out on tour, I think it was Curtis Strange who had an (interview) with him.
"He got asked what would be a good finish this week and Tiger said, 'I am not here to come second, and third is even worse'. You keep pushing, you keep making birdies. It is obviously a long way away but that's exactly where I want to be - major winner and No 1 player in the world eventually." Ruffels' words resonate given events of the past week. In the lead-up to the Australian PGA, Jason Day was awarded the Greg Norman Medal as the best performed Australian professional of the year.
Eight years ago, during the PGA when it was held on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, Day was greeted by howls of protest when he went public with his plans to take down Tiger Woods and claim the No 1 position in the world. His critics ended up with egg on their face. Ruffels, who shares the same management as Day, is cut from a similar cloth. He has big dreams and he isn't afraid to share them.
"He was criticised a little bit for turning pro so early," said Ruffels, who expects to turn professional next year, possibly next month. "He turned pro at 17 - that is what I am at the moment. He doesn't regret it whatsoever. If you look at it, he had a good amateur career but it wasn't sensational. He was pretty good but there are no real huge wins there.
"He didn't even play a US Amateur. He knew he was ready and he wanted to get amongst it a little bit. That is how I feel. As much as I am only 17, I feel like I have played these tournaments for a long time.
"It's kind of like I might start doing the same thing and get paid for it. There is a bit of incentive there now that I have finished school. But like I said, there is a bunch of stuff I can still do as an amateur." Ruffels has already achieved plenty. He headed into the Australian PGA - he missed the cut after a pair of 79s - as the ninth-ranked amateur in the world.
Predicting the sporting future is often an exercise in futility but Ruffels is regarded as a superstar in waiting. His talents have made the world's best sit up and take notice.
He counts the likes of McIlroy among his confidantes - the former world No. 1 lined him up tickets to this year's PGA championship.
"I played with Jase at the Canadian Open this year," Ruffels said. "He won that week so it was interesting to see how he goes about it. If I get a few starts on the PGA Tour next year, I will definitely line up a few more hits with Jason.
"We're not similar ages but he is younger. He has gone through what I am going through fairly recently. Plan A is to get seven starts next year (on the US PGA Tour), get your card that way and off you go. Plan B is you make at least that top 200 and get in the web.com finals.
"I will try to base myself in the US because that's what I want to do. In a perfect world, I play great and get on the PGA Tour next year not. We'll see." If the Canadian Open was a litmus test for the future, Ruffels walked away confident he was heading in the right direction. Making his debut on the US PGA Tour, he opened with a six-under par 66. He fell out of contention thereafter, but walked away believing he had the game to mix it in the professional ranks.
"I got onto the range thinking I know all these guys," the 17-year-old amateur said. "You look at them hit on the range and it is not quite as impressive as you think. They're PGA Tour players, you think every shot is going to be perfect. It's not.
"Obviously Rory (McIlroy), Jordan (Spieth) and Jason are a bit of a step above but the average PGA Tour player - they're great players, they obviously score and get around the course perfectly - there's a lot of flaws there too."But I don't want to be a run-of-the-mill PGA Tour player either. I have to get to a level Jason, Rory and Spieth are at."