Like too many tours, the man who leads the PGA Championship after two rounds is not allowed to leave the conversation above his clubs. What makes Li Haotong stand out from the crowd is what one of those clubs says about him.
“HAOTONG IS THE MOST HANDSOME MAN IN CHINA,” reads the stamp – in red capital letters, no less – on the back of Li’s 60-degree wedge.
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While that remains open to debate, the fun 25-year-old is definitely the first Chinese player to take the lead after each round in a major championship, thanks to a bogey-free 65 Friday that left him two shots off the field at 8 under 132. Any doubt Li has enough guts as fireworks to fight the weekend on a tough TPC Harding Park course would have to evaporate when placed shot 63 in the final round of the British Open over a draw cool, windy Royal Birkdale lineup three years ago to finish third.
“He plays almost all the guns that blow,” said Adam Scott, Li’s playmate in the President’s Cup matches last December, “and when it comes out, it’s really good.”
The more relevant question is whether Li, who suffered much of the redundancy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic back in China, can play consistently enough to chase a subsequent pack full of big winners and top-tier young stars significantly more holding experience in the biggest events of the game. A total of two dozen players were separated by just five shots at midfield.
Brooks Koepka, the two-time defending champion, an up-and-coming Jason Day, the co-leader of the first round, and Tommy Fleetwood, who mapped the low round of 64, were among the half-dozen golfers at 6- under. After an opening round of 68, he placed himself within written distance of the lead, shooting Tiger Woods to a 72 and a tie for 44th.
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The longer putter Woods for his success Thursday may go to the trunk of the trunk for the weekend after the total length of the putts he made precipitated fell from 115 feet to just 48 in round two.
Koepka was also not happy with his performance on the greens. But his biggest concern may be a tightening left hip that forced him to win remarkably after several tee shots. On at least three occasions during his round, Kopeka lay on the grass and called a coach to loosen the muscles on his left side.
“I felt like I could be 10 (under) at the moment,” he said afterward.
Li, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised to be where he was.
“I did not even know (think) that I could play like that … did not gain confidence,” he said.
Equally surprising was the to-do over the logo on Li’s hat. The fate of Chinese social media company WeChat, one of Li’s biggest sponsors, was called into question a day after President Donald Trump threatened to ban WeChat and TikTok in 45 days.
“I do not know,” Li responded when asked about that development. “Who knows?”
Proving that sportsmanship is not prohibited, Rory McIlroy arrived at his tackle shot next to the third green to find that a reporter had accidentally stepped on it. Ruling Officer Mark Dusbabek gave him a free-kick, but after deciding the right lie he gave an advantage, McIlory pushed it down into the rough and wrapped made-up bogey.
McIlroy, a two-time PGA Championship winner, got the shot back by running off four birds in a row, then returned it with a triple bogey at no. 12. He carded 1-under 69 and was tied for 31st.
‘At the end of the day, golf is a game of integrity and I never try to get away with anything. I would rather be on the wrong end of the rules than on the right end, “he said,” because as golfers that is exactly what we believe. “
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One thing that Li believes in, other than apparently his own good looks, is practice. Day reminds him that he was practicing Li when he came down, and then surprisingly saw a video of Li back on the range after Day was finished. That was at least three hours after Li had completed his own round.
“I’ll run past him and give him something crazy,” laughed Day. “He should not have a wife and children.”
