"We play a fair bit in Dallas when we're both in town, which is not very much," said dual citizen Austin Connelly, the tiny Canadian-American you might not have heard of until last month. "He's a nice guy, a good friend of mine and I've got to spend a lot of time with him over the years."

So when Spieth speaks, the world listens. He said something during his wild march to a maiden British Open title last month which stuck with many. The baby-faced kid - Connelly's actually 20 years old - had a "killer instinct", according the man destined for golfing greatness. He would know given their friendship.

Connelly had just snatched the last spot in The Open qualifying, loitered near the top of the leaderboard all week and wound up in a tie for 14th in his first major at Royal Birkdale. His Australian swing coach Cameron McCormick and Spieth's guru labelled it a giant leap.

The golfing world had quickly scrambled to figure out where the guy with the maple leaf next to his name had come from. He was born in Texas, but for now he plays under the Canadian banner. And with pride.

"It's been incredible [the last few months]," Connelly said. "It's nice to take advantage of an opportunity like that [major].

"I've played reasonably well [in 2017] having never seen the golf courses before and playing golf courses I didn't really hand pick. Some of them fit me and some of them didn't. Overall it's been a good year."

Good year? It's been better than that. Much better. But maybe the mark of the man is he wasn't surprised at all at his British Open success - and actually demanded more of himself.

It's why the kid who could whack a golf ball 120 yards at age four turned pro at just 18, partly on the advice of Spieth. He skipped college and jumped straight into the professional furnace.

"I had just finished high school," Connelly said. "For me it came down to [the fact] I didn't want to balance my time. I knew that this is what I wanted to do for a living.

"My whole team was confident I had the skill set to do it and I had to get the job done. It's worked out well so far and I'm happy with where I'm trending and I feel like I'm going in the right direction."

If Connelly had accidentally leant sideways during the opening round of the Fiji International on Thursday, the crazy coastal winds at the Vijay Singh-designed Natadola Bay course may have blown him over.

In the bombs-away modern golf era, world No.356 Connelly is almost half the size of the tour's burly boys.

Which is why the gusts during his opening-round three-under 69 - inspired by a chip-in eagle on the 17th, to be just three shots off pacesetter Daniel Pearce - didn't worry him one bit as he tries to cement his European Tour status for next year.

"I love it when it's windy," Connelly said. "I would like it to be like this for the next three days which would be ideal. I've grown up playing in the wind and I definitely think I have an advantage over this field in these conditions."

Adam Pengilly is covering the Fiji International as a guest of the PGA of Australia.