Jan. 16, 2022 — After a disappointing 36-hole lead at the 2020 PGA Championship and then a slide, Li Haotong appears to have figured out how to deal with the pressure of the top of the PGA Tour leaderboard.
The third round of the Hawaii Sony Open ended Saturday at the Waile Country Club outside Honolulu. Li Haotong, a Chinese player who started in the leading group, made five birdies throughout the day, made a bogey and a double bogey at the same time, and finished the game with a score of 68 (-2), with a total score of 14 under par. , temporarily tied for third place. Russell Henry, who is in the same group as Li Haotong, scored -3 in a single round, and still holds the top spot in the leaderboard. Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama handed over a 63 with 7 birds and 0 bogeys, with a total score of 16 under par, ranking second alone.
“Anytime you hit an under-par score, it’s a good score.” Li Haotong said that 68 is the worst single-round score he has handed over so far this week. Shot 63 and 65. But the three-round total score of -14 (196) still set his record for the lowest score of 54 holes on the PGA Tour. Before that, his best result in the first three rounds on the PGA Tour was the World Championships-HSBC Champions seven years ago: he shot 201 in the first three days of Sheshan and eventually tied for seventh.
“Today’s putter was not so hot. Apart from that (the 16th hole mistake), I played pretty well today.” Li Haotong concluded. After working with new coach Jamie, Li Haotong saw an almost immediate performance boost. In his first three days at Wyelay Country Club, he never dropped below 70 percent on the greens. He missed the green on just four holes Saturday, including a double-bogey 16th. On the 437-yard par 4, his tee shot into the rough on the left side of the fairway, and his second shot saved it to the back of the green, taking a total of four shots to get it on the green.
“There was a big mistake on the 16th hole tee off,” Li Haotong said when explaining his only double bogey this week. “Today on the back nine holes, the wind was different. I usually open the 16th hole. The ball is downwind, with a wood; today with a 3-wood, hit a left tie.”
This is the second time that Li Haotong has participated in the Hawaii Sony Open in his career. In 2016, he also participated with a sponsor’s wild card and finally failed to make the cut. Before that, Liang Wenchong had participated in the Sony Open four times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014), and made three cuts. The best result was a tie for 25th in 2010.
Li Haotong will join nine-time PGA Tour champion Matt Kuchar, a 43-year-old veteran, in the final round on Sunday at 12:55 p.m. local time (6:55 a.m. Beijing time on Monday) Set off. Kuchar is the only player who has yet to make a bogey of all the players in the game this week. Kuchar is a strong contender at Wyelay Country Club, where his most recent PGA Tour title was won in 2019.
“I hope I can play straighter tomorrow, hit more fairways, and give myself more opportunities.” Li Haotong said. His best finish on the PGA Tour remains a lone third-place finish at the 2017 British Open. He’s playing this week with a sponsor’s wild card and if he can stay in the top 10 on the final leaderboard, he’ll automatically qualify for next week’s American Express.Return to Sohu, see more
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