By the numbers: McIlroy’s FedExCup-winning season

Four years ago in April, China’s Haotong Li walked off the 18th green at the Mission Hills Golf Club’s Sandbelt Trails Course. He had just completed the first round of his first PGA TOUR Series-China tournament, the Mission Hills Haikou Open. He was 18 years old. That day comes to mind as players gather this week at the Sandbelt Trails Course for the first International Qualifying Tournament as PGA TOUR Series-China makes its return to the golf calendar, with players looking to become the next big thing to come out of China. For right now, however, that honor belongs to the 22-year-old from Hunan. At the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday, Li rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the tournament to seal his second European Tour triumph, beating Rory McIlroy by a stroke. The Dubai win was the latest in a long line of successes by Li, who burst on the scene winning three times during his 2014 PGA TOUR Series-China season and capturing Player of the Year honors. He subsequently qualified for the 2015 and 2016 Web.com Tour seasons, and in early 2016, Li traveled home to play in his national open and ended up winning the Volvo China Open. He accepted European Tour membership after the triumph in Beijing. Li’s upward trajectory continued at The Open Championship in 2017 when he fired a final-round 63 to tie for third, the best finish by a player from China in a major championship. His performance earned him invites to all four of golf’s 2018 major championships. That showing at Royal Birkdale, among several other top-10s, led to Li’s 17th-place finish on the European Tour’s 2017 Race to Dubai rankings. Finishing inside the top 20 on that list also garnered him the opportunity to play in his first World Golf Championships event outside of China—the 2018 Mexico Championship, coming in March. Happy and incredible were the only two words Li could come up with when asked to describe how he felt winning in Dubai and putting his name next to, among others, Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Fred Couples, Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia and McIlroy, who have also won that tournament. Li also noted that the oversized, traditional Arabic coffee pot that serves as the tournament’s trophy left him “happy to lift that heavy thing.� “I think my game is in good position now, and especially after this week. It gives me a lot of confidence, especially (after) last week (when I) missed the cut (at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship),� he explained. When Li’s week began in Dubai, he was 60th in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is projected to move to somewhere in the low 30s when the next Ranking is released Monday. Regardless of his number, it will be his career-high position—and place in the OWGR potentially will open even more PGA TOUR playing opportunities for Li. Besides the PGA TOUR events he already has on his busy 2018 playing calendar, more tournament invites very well could materialize. The top-64 players in the OWGR as of March 12 receive invitations to play in the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas (March 21-25). And any player inside the top-50 in the OWGR through the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (April 29) is invited to play at TPC Sawgrass and THE PLAYERS (May 10-13). When Li was still living in Florida during his Web.com Tour days, he spent many hours practicing at TPC Sawgrass’ renowned practice facility. He just hasn’t spent any time there during THE PLAYERS. From all appearances, that is about to change.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The TOUR’s elite often play a starring role at the Wells Fargo Championship. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler have won here, and Phil Mickelson is a consistent contender at Quail Hollow. Players of that ilk make the game look deceptively easy. They launch drives that burst the 300-yard barrier, lift long-irons high into the air and sink putts with more curve than the Pacific Coast Highway. They can make us forget how difficult this game is, especially when your livelihood is on the line. The leaderboard at the halfway point of this edition of the Wells Fargo Championship is a reminder that golf can humble anyone, even the professionals. There are harder ways to make a buck – this isn’t coal mining — but that doesn’t mean professional golf is easy. Just look at 36-hole leader Jason Dufner. He won a major championship and once was an annual attendee of the TOUR Championship. Now he’s struggling to make cuts. “I’m just thankful to be playing on the weekend,â€� he said after Friday’s 63. At 11-under 131, he’s one shot ahead of Max Homa, who also shot 63 on Friday, and Joel Dahmen. Homa is back on TOUR after enduring a season you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. Two years ago, he made just two cuts and was 61-over par in 16 stroke-play starts. Dahmen, who will join Dufner in Saturday’s final group, is playing his third PGA TOUR season. He served a five-year apprenticeship on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada before finally graduating to the Web.com Tour. That’s a longer tenure than most players who eventually make it to the PGA TOUR. Dufner’s day included a chip-in from 35 yards on the first hole and a 40-foot putt for birdie on 17.  Those were rare bright spots in a miserable stretch of golf. The 63 was his low round since his victory at the 2013 PGA Championship. He’s 188th in this season’s FedExCup standings, missing more than half his cuts and finishing in the top 50 just twice. He has just one top-10 in the past two years, a poor stretch that led him to make a myriad of changes. He’s used four caddies this year. He left his longtime swing coach, Chuck Cook, and started working with putting instructor Phil Kenyon. “I think I’m on my fourth or fifth putter this year, I’m on my fourth or fifth driver, my fourth or fifth golf ball, fourth or fifth lob wedge,â€� Dufner said. “I’m trying to find stuff that’s going to work.â€� He started seeing positive signs at the RBC Heritage and again at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He’s 42 years old and has never played the power game that’s become prevalent on the PGA TOUR, so he knows that he has to make the most of the next few years. “Being competitive, trying to win tournaments, is where I want to be,â€� said Dufner, who owns five PGA TOUR titles. “I’ve done everything I ever thought I could do in golf, so I want to take this last window and make the most of it.â€� Dufner didn’t start playing golf until he was 15 and was a walk-on at Auburn University. Homa, on the other hand, was one of those players who turned pro with a resume overflowing with impressive accolades. He won the NCAA Championship in 2013 and played on that year’s Walker Cup team with future PGA TOUR winners Justin Thomas and Michael Kim. Homa and Thomas both made their first PGA TOUR start as professionals at the 2013 Safeway Open. Thomas finished 72nd. Homa was ninth. They both graduated to the PGA TOUR in 2014 after one season on the Web.com Tour. But while Thomas became a FedExCup and major champion, Homa lost his way while trying to get better. He finished 163rd in the FedExCup as a rookie. His return to the Web.com Tour lasted just a single season, but his struggles were even worse in his second season on the PGA TOUR. Homa’s driver was the culprit, especially the occasional “foul ballâ€� that racks up the penalty strokes. Homa earned less than $20,000 that season. He jokes now that he made more money for appearing in the Monday pro-ams. He hit rock bottom in the last event of his PGA TOUR season, shooting 14 over (75-79) to finish last by five shots and miss the cut by 15. He estimates he hit seven provisional balls a week. Homa isn’t worried about the stray tee shot anymore. His driving has steadily improved, thanks in part to a return to his coach from his college days, Les Johnson. And Homa draws confidence from his amateur accomplishments, which confirm to him that, even though his career took a detour, he can compete on the PGA TOUR. “Obviously I know Justin is far superior, but I also know that my good golf was somewhat similar,â€� Homa said. Dufner has shown he’s capable of winning the game’s biggest titles. Even though it’s been a long time since he’s proved that, he doesn’t think he’s hoisted his last PGA TOUR trophy. “By no means do I think that this is the end of me playing good golf,â€� Dufner said. “It may have looked like that to some people … but I feel like I’ve got a lot of good golf left in me.â€� Golf can lead players to some dark places. But Dufner and Homa could prove this week that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

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Tiger Woods guided the U.S team to a win — as the team’s captain and its best player — and completed a year that reminded the world of something: He can still play.

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