Li Haotong
| Li Haotong | |
|---|---|
| — Golfer — | |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
3 August 1995 Hunan, China |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st) |
| Nationality |
 China |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 2011 |
| Current tour(s) |
Web.com Tour European Tour |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour China |
| Professional wins | 5 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| European Tour | 1 |
| Other | 4 |
Li Haotong (Chinese: 李昊桐; pinyin: Lǐhàotóng, born 3 August 1995) is a Chinese professional golfer.
Career
Li turned professional in 2011 and played his early pro career on the OneAsia Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia. He also competed in a few European Tour events. Li qualified for the new PGA Tour China in 2014, where he won three times, led the tour's Order of Merit to earn full Web.com Tour status, and was the first Chinese member of the Web.com Tour. He finished 11th in his first Web.com Tour event, the Panama Claro Championship. He went on to maintain his 2016 Web.com Tour card by finishing 49th on the money list.[1]
During the middle of his Web.com Tour season, Li traveled back to China and entered the inaugural Shenzhen International, an event added to the European Tour for 2015.
Following a first-round 71 and a second-round 73, Li managed a third-round of seven-under-par 65, alongside two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, who shot a 74. At that stage it was the joint lowest round of the tournament alongside Spain's Pablo Larrazabal.[2]
Speaking of the experience of playing alongside Watson, Li said, "He's pretty nice guy, so I very much enjoyed playing with him. I hit a lot of greens and made a lot of birdies. I was pretty lucky also." Watson praised the youngster, saying, "He's hitting the ball really well. He's making a lot of putts. The key around a golf course is a lot of putts and he made a lot of putts today."[3]
On day four of the tournament, Li shot a round of 67, but had to watch on TV to see if he would become the first Chinese player to win a European Tour event on home soil. Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who had led for the majority of the tournament, managed to draw level at 12-under-par and force a playoff, which he won by one shot.[4]
The next week, Li finished 6th at the Volvo China Open before returning to the Web.com Tour. At the conclusion of the Web.com Tour year, Li played five consecutive events in Asia, including the 2015 WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai. As one of six Chinese invites, he finished T7, the highest ever PGA Tour finish for a Chinese-born player.
On 1 May 2016, he captured his first European Tour victory by winning the Volvo China Open.
Professional wins (5)
European Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 May 2016 | Volvo China Open1 | −22 (69-67-66-64=266) | 3 strokes |  Felipe Aguilar |
1 Co-sanctioned with the OneAsia Tour
European Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015 | Shenzhen International |  Kiradech Aphibarnrat |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
PGA Tour China wins (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[5] | 28 Sep 2014 | Jianye Tianzhu Henan Open | −13 (72-67-68-68=275) | 8 strokes |  Chan Shih-chang |
| 2[6] | 23 Nov 2014 | Hainan Open | −10 (71-68-69-70=278) | 6 strokes |  Kim Do-hyun |
| 3[7] | 30 Nov 2014 | CTS Tycoon Championship | −11 (65-70-73-69=277) | 5 strokes |  Raymond Beaufils |
OneAsia Tour wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[8] | 12 Oct 2014 | Nanshan China Masters | −9 (68-65-72-70=275) | 4 strokes | Jun Seok Lee |
| 2 | 1 May 2016 | Volvo China Open1 | −22 (69-67-66-64=266) | 3 strokes | Felipe Aguilar |
1 Co-sanctioned with the European Tour
References
- ↑ "Growing into his game". PGA Tour. 14 October 2015.
- ↑ "Day 3 in Numbers: Shenzhen International". PGA European Tour. 18 April 2015.
- ↑ "Li sets the standard". PGA European Tour. 18 April 2015.
- ↑ "Aphibarnrat pips Li in play-off". PGA European Tour. 19 April 2015.
- ↑ "Jianye Tianzhu Henan Open". PGA Tour China. 28 September 2014.
- ↑ "Hainan Open". PGA Tour China. 23 November 2014.
- ↑ "CTS Tycoon Championship". PGA Tour China. 30 November 2014.
- ↑ "Nanshan International GC .. 9th - 12th October 2014". OneAsia. 12 October 2014.
External links
- Li Haotong at the PGA Tour official site
- Li Haotong at the European Tour official site
- Li Haotong at the Official World Golf Ranking official site