Whether it was muttered from the mouths of Elmer from Louisiana, Hank from South Dakota or Colt from Montana, the sentiments were the same from this neck-craning American audience peering on at Rory McIlroy shoogling himself into position on the first tee at Augusta and preparing to get a practice round underway here at the 79th Masters.

"Who's the other guy?," came the whispers as they took a robust gulp of breakfast beer, hitched up their ill-fitting breeks and began to waddle down along with this tantalising two-ball. This 'other guy' was Bradley Neil, the reigning Amateur champion from Blairgowrie, and this was his chance to make a name for himself on the other side of the pond. He certainly didn't look out of place. Thumping a drive straight down the middle of the fairway, you half expected the confident Scottish teenager to turn to the world No 1 and say 'beat that ya bugger'. McIlroy did, of course, and clattered one some 40 yards in front of him. "I thought then he's good isn't he?," said Neil with a smile. It was smiles all round as they casually strolled down the fairway on a pleasant Georgia morning for a hit about that had been arranged during last year's Ryder Cup and then firmed up when the pair had lunch here at Augusta just over a week ago. Neil is 19 and is making great strides in the game. McIlroy is only six years older at just 25 and operates in a different stratosphere. Boys will be boys, though. "Well he's only a few years older so we were talking about girls and stuff like that," reported Neil. "But it was just little things we talked about like football teams. It was just little things to let the time pass."

They arrived in their droves to gaze at McIlroy but Neil did manage to steal a bit of the limelight. The former Scottish Boys' champion holed out from 90 yards on the par-5 second for an eagle-three and another early magical Masters moment was his to savour. The patrons roared their approval and McIlroy ambled over and gave him a congratulatory slap of the hand. Did he call him a jammy sod? Not quite. "Rory couldn't stop laughing because that day we met here recently I did the exact same thing and he was on the third tee at the time," added Neil. "He said 'just don't bother going for the green, just lay up all the time'."

McIlroy is going for the career Grand Slam this week and the pressure on his shoulders is akin to the burden Atlas used to carry. You wouldn't know it, of course. "His rise has been very quick but you see how calm he is about everything and it shows how strong he is mentally," observed Neil. "I know what is in store for him this week and he has a chance at history. He's had that on his mind. But he's just a normal person. Everyone here doesn't view him like that but he's so down to earth and a great guy."

For Neil's dad Rodney, part of one of the biggest Perthshire invasions since St Johnstone got to Hampden, it was a very, very proud moment. "There were no tears when I saw him on the tee but there might be on the first day," admitted faither, who got his two sons into golf at an early age and has watched Bradley is particular dedicate himself to the cause. "He has an opportunity this week that not many kids get and it's an experience that will hopefully drive him on and make him a better player. When is the next time I'm going to be back here? He'll have to be in the top 50 of the world or stay amateur and win the Amateur again? Will that happen? Who knows. It's great for him. Whenever he turns pro he'll be cranking it up and he'll be watching these guys and looking at how hard they work. I sent Bradley a text a wee while ago about the work we used to do. We'd be out at quarter to seven before school and at events like the Boys' Championship we'd do the same. We were told we were the only ones doing that. That kind of preparation has stood him in good stead but it's hard work. You think you know everything in this game but you never do. You have to keep at it."

Neil's coach, Kevin Hale, was also absorbing the Augusta air. He may have passed on his pearls of wisdom to Neil during their four year alliance but yesterday was an experience that isn't scribbled down in the coaching manual.

"There's not really anything you can say as coach to prepare someone for playing with the world No 1," said Hale. "But I think he's the type that will thrive in an occasion like this rather than being scared by it. That's the attitude you want. It's natural that he'll be nervous, though he didn't seem to show that with the tee shot he just hit on the first tee. That's all part of the test. It's about how you deal with it and I think Bradley will embrace that this week."

Having enjoyed his day in the spotlight with the best player on the planet, the rest of Masters week for Neil will just be like playing in the Blairgowrie medal.