China's Hainan Island has emerged as a hotbed for golf, as clearly evidence from the rise of Li Linqiang and Liu Enhua.

As the No. 1 and No. 2 players, respectively, on the China Tour Order of Merit, both hail from the country's southern-most province and have quickly made their names known on the world golf stage.

Chinese golfer Liu Enhua competes in the Mitsubishi Electric FA Golf Open.

With the 19-year-old Li dominating the China Tour with three wins this season, and the 17-year-old Liu capturing his maiden title, both are aiming to be atop the leaderboard when the Mitsubishi Electric FA Golf Open concludes on Sunday at Suzhou Taihu International Golf Club.

For Li, who this year has captured titles at the Jinan Open, Guotai Cup Match Play and last month's Guotai Open, the motivation to win this week in Jiangsu has special meaning.

"Dou Zecheng (the PGA Tour regular) has always been my role model. I read that he is the only player to win four times on the China Tour. I want to follow in his footsteps and also win four times. Hopefully I can do it on Sunday."

Both Li and Liu grew up in Haikou, the Hainan capital in the north of the island, and took different paths to reach the pro game. While Liu was a child prodigy, training and competing regularly from the age of six, Li didn't pick up a golf club until he was nine.

With his parents being transplants from Harbin in the northern, often-frozen Heilongjiang province, neither played golf. His father's brother introduced the young Li to golf on the sun-drenched island that boasts more than 20 golf clubs, including the Mission Hills Haikou complex where 10 courses surround the massive resort.

"My first coach was Sun Xiuhua, one of the first-generation lady professionals in China. Then I followed a Spanish coach," said Li. "Golf was a relatively late interest for me in contrast to my counterparts, but I fell in love quickly and took it seriously immediately."

The practice quickly paid off as in 2017 when he made the weekend play at the Hainan Open as a 13-year-old. His achievement set a new record for the youngest player to make the halfway cut at a European Challenge Tour tournament - the event's co-sponsor.

Turning pro in 2022 after he won the China Tour Qualifying Tournament #2, Li immediately came close to getting his first win but fell short at the Hengdian Championship to Ma Chengyao.

"I lost in the playoff at Hengdian Championship. I thought I was close to the win, I have the game to win. It inspired me," said Li who is 1,424th in the world golf ranking.

"At Shandong Guyun Lake Golf Course (at the Jinan Open), I had my first win. Going into the final round, I was three shots behind. I played from the last group. Chen Guxin was the leader. He played solid. But the wind picked up late in the final round. While Chen struggled down the stretch, I grasped the chance."

With RMB351,168 in prize money so far this year, Li is comfortably atop the Order of Merit with no one able to catch him this week with the RMB90,000 winner's purse. But with four tournaments left in the season after this week, several players are in close proximity looking to get close and overtake him in the run-up to the season-ending CGC Championship.

The money title winner this year automatically receives a full-playing card for next season on the DP World Tour.

Liu, second on the Order with RMB230,253, is among those gunning for the title. The teenager got his first taste of victory in May when he won the Exciting Hangzhou West Lake Open, beating Chen by a stroke. He then finished runner-up to Li at the Guotai Cup Men's and Women's Professional Match Play in August.

"My plan didn't change after my first win. I tried to qualify for the Asian Tour last year but failed. I will try again this year. But this win shows me that I am good enough to win on the China Tour and I am able to go a step further," said Liu, also a second-year pro.

Playing on the DP World Tour is another goal, even though he concedes he may be too far behind Li on the money list to catch him.

"Still, I would try to qualify for the DP World Tour. I would be exempted into the final stage of Q-school as a top-three player on the China Tour. I don't want to miss the boat. I enjoy my tour life. I love golf and travel, I can see many new places."

Li, in contrast, said he preferred not to think about the money title.

"I know I dominate now, but anything could change at the Volvo China Open where the purse is US$1.5 million. I don't want more stress. The greens in Suzhou are different from last week (in Hangzhou). I need to spend more time on the greens," he said.

"In 2020 and 2021, I hit the bottom. I had self-doubt. But you know, it could be a blessing in disguise. Everyone could slump at some point in his career. I learned and could be better with the experience. I just try to qualify for the Japan Tour, too. I think it's a good place for me to grow up. I also have a chance to play on the European Tour. I would struggle over there because I haven't played on the global stage. I didn't have a good preparation. But I will still be there and gather experience," he added.

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