A young and upcoming Bermudian golfer has made a splash after playing in two overseas junior golf tournaments, finishing in the top three in each one.

Thirteen-year-old Ryan Roberts, of Saltus Grammar School, earned himself a top-15 ranking in the US state of Tennessee.

The events involved the top junior golfers from across the state, as well as from Georgia and Kentucky.

Roberts placed second in the first tournament, on July 11 and 12, held at Kings Creek Golf Club, in Spring Hill, with a two-day total of 149 (nine over par) three behind winner Christopher Sherry.

After the first round, Roberts was only two stokes behind Sherry and Alex Burton, who finished third.

Roberts had met Sherry two years earlier in Williamsburg, Virginia when they played together in the US Kids World Championships, a tournament he's played in over the last five years.

In the second tournament, held on July 16 and 17 at Bear Trace, Cumberland Mountain, 120 miles east of Nashville, Roberts managed to place third with a two-day total of 164 (20 over par), nine strokes behind winner Mitchell Thomas.

That event featured a tougher and longer course than Kings Creek and the second round was delayed three times due to inclement weather. After the first day, Roberts had been in fourth place.

And as a result of the Tennessee tournaments, Roberts was ranked 15th in the state of Tennessee and was invited to play in their season-ending Tournament of Champions but declined the invitation due to the short notice he was given.

At last year's World Championships, in Pinehurst, South Carolina, he placed 97th out of 115th, competing against the best juniors from around the world.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette about the July tournaments, Roberts said: "At my level I have to play with 16 and 17-year-olds, so I just wanted to play in a place where kids that are my age could give be some good competition.

"I liked watching the older kids play and what they were doing, in particular, the time they take before taking their shots, that was something I took lots of mental notes of. In Tennessee, all of the people were really nice and I've got some friends there, the kids there are really fast. I felt as if I was one of them; the only thing different was my accent."

Asked if he had a favourite out of the four pro golfers that will come to Bermuda for the PGA Grand Slam in October, he said it was a no-brainer: Tiger Woods.

"For the Grand Slam," he added, "I've been selected as a volunteer and I will be helping out for the actual tournament. I'm very excited about the event. My favourite is Tiger.

"I like Tiger because he wins. He's always making shortcuts, he's got a good iron game and he's good at recovering from wayward shots."

Roberts, now 14 and entering year ten at Saltus, plans to become a professional golfer/golf course designer. Every week, he can be found training at the Belmont Hills Golf Course, with the help of pros Brian Morris and Darren Swan.

Next year, he plans to return to Tennessee for the same tournament where he hopes to improve his state ranking.