Brendan Steele made a second consecutive cut last week posting a two-under-par 71-72-71-72 — 286 that tied for 48th in the Wells Fargo Championship at Charlotte, N.C. In the process he added more than $16,000 to his official winnings and moved up slightly on the FedEx Points list.

The Idyllwild native’s stats suggest that he hit a fair number of greens in regulation and putted well, but that playing too many second shots from the rough led to long putts that made it difficult to score.

This week Steele will take on “Golf’s Greatest Stadium” in The Players Championship on the TPC Sawgrass course at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The tournament boasts a huge purse of $9.5 million, with about $1.7 million going to the winner.

Just making the cut and finishing last is worth about $18,000. The course is also home to the famous “Island Green,” the 137-yard par three 17th hole with no fairway, just a green surrounded by water that makes for great television.

An opening-round 78 took Steele out of The Players last year, the first time he played the tournament. But with more experience under his best, he aims for a much better result this time.