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Everyone at pga chasing haotong li, first chinese player to lead after a major round.

• Doug Ferguson ,
• Doug Ferguson

SAN FRANCISCO — Still young, often inconsistent, forever fearless, Haotong Li is capable of just about anything on a big stage in golf. He was at his best Friday in the PGA Championship.

Three years after his 63 in the final round of the British Open, Li hit only four fairways at Harding Park and still managed a 5-under 65 that made him the first Chinese player to have the lead after any round at any major.

The 25-year-old Li capped a bogey-free round with his eighth start par and was at 8-under 132, two shots ahead of a big group that include — who else? — Brooks Koepka, the two-time defending champion.

Much farther back was Tiger Woods, who found more fairways but struggled on the greens, ranking 131st in the key putting statistic against the 156-man field. He flirted with the cut line until a birdie on the 16th kept him safe, and his 72 put him eight shots behind.

Woods wasn’t alone in his struggles. Rory McIlroy ran off four straight birdies around the turn and gave nearly all of the away with a triple bogey on the 12th hole, three-putting from 7 feet once he finally got on the green. He had a 69 and was seven shots behind. Justin Thomas, the world’s No. 1 player, also had to rally to make the cut on the number.

And so on the public gem in San Francisco with a history of the biggest stars winning, the 36-hole leader is got his start on the PGA Tour-China Series and currently is No. 114 in the world.

Surprised? So was he.

PGA Championship: Scores | Full coverage

Li was in China as the pandemic shut down golf. He returned three weeks ago and missed the cut, and then tied for 75th in a 78-man field at a World Golf Championship.

“I didn’t even (think) I could play like this ... got no confidence,” Li said. “Probably it helped me clear my mind a little bit.”

Getting as much attention was the logo on his hat — WeChat, the Chinese social media company and one of his biggest sponsors. Li was in the spotlight at Harding Park one day after President Donald Trump signed executive orders on a vague ban of WeChat and TikTok in 45 days.

Just as unclear was whether Li was aware of the development.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Who knows?”

Koepka was more worried about a tight hip that a nagging left knee, and he had a trainer come out to stretch and twist him three times along the back nine. It loosened him up enough for Koepka to post a 68. It’s the fifth time in his last eight majors that he has gone into the weekend within three shots of the lead.

“I felt like I probably could be 10 (under) right now,” he said. “Hit a lot of good putts, just didn’t go in. ... But driving it pretty well. Iron play, I’m pretty pleased with. You know, I like where I’m at.”

Also at 6-under 134 were former PGA champion Jason Day (69), former U.S. Open champion Justin Rose (68), Tommy Fleetwood (64), Daniel Berger (67) and Mike Lorenzo-Vera of France, who closed with a 15-foot bogey putt for a 68.

Two dozen players were separated by five shots at the halfway point.

Li is a two-time winner on the European Tour, most recently in 2018 at the Dubai Desert Classic when he rallied down the stretch to beat McIlroy by one shot.

He was sensational at Royal Birkdale in 2017 — only five other players have 63 in the final round of a major. But he had a terrible week in his Presidents Cup debut at Royal Melbourne in December. When he first came to America, he made fast friends on the developmental tours with his constant laughter, engaging personality and aggressive play.

“He’s got the arsenal to take it low,” said Adam Scott, his teammate at Royal Melbourne. “But we don’t see that kind of consistency out of him, and that probably matches his personality a little bit. He’s young, though, and that’s the kind of golf he plays. He plays pretty much all guns blazing, and when it comes off, it’s really good.”

And when it doesn’t? He beat Koepka in the Match Play last year and reached the round of 16. But that was his last top 10 in America. And then there was the Presidents Cup.

• Ryan Lavner ,

Li brought his trainer to be his caddie, and the caddie got lost on the course during a practice round, gave up and headed for the clubhouse. Instead of finding him, Li played the rest of the round out of another player’s bag. International captain Ernie Els wound up benching him for two days, playing Li only when he had to. Li lost both matches he played.

“It’s been very tough on me, the Presidents Cup, because I didn’t play until Saturday,” Li said. “So not quite in the Presidents that way, actually. But anyways, good experience.”

Another one awaits.

Li was seen at the practice range and putting green much of the afternoon, although Golf Channel reported he had gone to rental home for lunch and a nap. True, there’s not much to do during health protocols in place for the pandemic. And he’s young enough that energy shouldn’t be a problem.

But it sets up Saturday as a critical day, for Li and for Koepka, for Woods and Dustin Johnson, for everyone chasing a major championship trophy that hasn’t been awarded since the British Open a year ago in July.

– Doug Ferguson is a writer for the Associated Press

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Chinese Success on LPGA Tour Inspiring Players at the Epson Tour Championship

Field breakdown: 2024 chevron championship.

• epson-tour-championship
• Miranda Wang

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The People’s Republic of China has seen plenty of players have success during the 2023 LPGA Tour season. Shanghai native Ruoning Yin became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the DIO Implant LA Open in the spring, defeating major champion Georgia Hall by a single shot at Palos Verdes Golf Club to capture her first title in just her second season on the LPGA Tour.

Yin struck again just a few months later at Baltusrol Golf Club’s Lower Course, taking home her first major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. On a Sunday that saw many make devastating mistakes coming down the stretch, the 21-under hung tough and carded a bogey-free, 4-under 67 to post at 8-under overall, finishing just one stroke ahead of 2021 U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso.

The young superstar’s longtime friend and landlord, Xiyu Lin, has also been making plenty of noise of her own over the last couple of seasons. In 2022, the 27-year-old earned four top-five results, three of which were runner-up finishes at the Honda LPGA Thailand, Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G and The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America.

Lin hasn’t slowed down in 2023, recording five top-five finishes so far this year, including two runner-up results at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro and Portland Classic as well as a pair of T3s at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She also finished T4 at the Dana Open.

On top of that, two of the 10 Epson Tour graduates from last season, Yan Liu and Xiaowen Yin, are also competing regularly out on the LPGA Tour. The pair have captured three top-10 finishes and made well over a combined $300,000 in career earnings thus far. Liu even had a hole-in-one earlier this season at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, a shot that helped the 2023 rookie stay on the right side of the cut line.

So as Siyun Liu and Miranda Wang were preparing for this week’s Epson Tour Championship with LPGA Tour cards – among other things like a paid-for exemption into LPGA Q-Series – on the line, they have been looking to their LPGA Tour counterparts for inspiration as they ready themselves for one of the biggest weeks they’ve faced so far this year.

Like Yin, Liu is also from Shanghai and the 24-year-old has been paying close attention to the 21-year-old’s banner year. For so long, female golfers from the People’s Republic of China only really had major champion and former Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Shanshan Feng to model their careers after.

But with players like Yin and Lin – among others – playing solidly and winning out on the LPGA Tour, there are now plenty of examples to follow. There’s also now a legion of women from the People’s Republic of China proudly carrying on the tradition started by Feng, a group that Liu is looking to join this week at LPGA International, or even down the line at LPGA Q-Series.

“For a really long time, it was basically just Shanshan (Feng) who's on the top of the leaderboard all the time and being the world number one who inspired my generation to start working for the world number one and thinking this is actually within reach,” Liu said. “To see (Ruoning), someone who's about my age, actually slightly younger than I am, to get to that spot, it's just amazing.

“Just to see her doing that great makes me want to do something big like what she's doing too. I know that she's been working so hard so it's given me a lot of motivation to even grind harder and work on how to make my practice more efficient and more precise to help me get better.”

Liu has also seen many of the Chinese Epson Tour graduates having success on the LPGA Tour, getting an up close and personal look at what it’s like on one of golf’s biggest stages via the experiences of two of her closest friends. “(Xiaowen) Yin and Yan Liu, who made it to the LPGA through the (Race for the Card) top 10 last year, they're both friends of mine,” she said. “Just watching their success really inspired me to get onto the LPGA as well and join them to kind of follow their suit.”

For Wang, it’s been Lin who has had the biggest influence on her pursuit of LPGA Tour Membership. The pair have known each other since their amateur days, having both been members of the Chinese National Team in their youth, and Wang has always looked up to Lin, calling on her friend’s experiences and successes for inspiration in moments of doubt and hardship.

“(Xiyu Lin) has always been a role model for us and also for young Chinese players,” said the Tianjin, China native of the LPGA Tour veteran. “She's a great player since even in junior times and I think she works really hard and she’s really competitive.

“Sometimes when I feel a little down, I think of all Xiyu went through all these years. She was not born in the U.S. She didn't even go to college in the U.S. It was pretty foreign for her. But she went through all those and got better and better. I think that's really inspiring.”

Anything can happen at the Epson Tour Championship, and with an LPGA Q-Series berth and LPGA Tour Membership on the line for Liu and Wang this week, both will be doing everything in their power to achieve their respective goals. But they’ll also be chasing their dream of playing on the LPGA Tour and continuing the tradition of excellence that players like Feng, Lin and Yin have made the standard for professional golfers from the People’s Republic of China.

“LPGA is my dream, and it’s the highest stage for professional golfers. My goal is to put out my best performance to show myself and to show the people that believe in me that I'm able to be performing well on that stage,” Wang said. “I will be also very proud because I'm Chinese player and I will be proud to follow their steps. To be on Tour with Ruoning and Xiyu would be really exciting for me.”

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The Masters Showed Why We Need LIV Golfers Back on the PGA Tour

Posted: April 16, 2024 | Last updated: April 16, 2024

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As golf’s civil war rages, all the top PGA Tour and LIV players are at the Masters this week

Jon Rahm, of Spain, walks to the 10th green during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Brooks Koepka hands over his club on the second hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Bryson DeChambeau hands his driver to his caddie on the eighth hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Jon Rahm, of Spain, reacts on the 12th hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Jon Rahm, of Spain, hits on the 12th hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Jon Rahm, of Spain, and Nicolai Hojgaard, of Denmark, walk onto the 12th green during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Brooks Koepka, from left, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay hits on the second hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Bryson DeChambeau tees off on the eighth hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — In some ways, golf finds itself at a point in time not unlike pro football in the 1960s, when two rival leagues duked it out but found a path to reconciliation that produced a game far bigger than anyone could’ve envisioned.

Bryson DeChambeau, for one, is hopeful that the still-smoldering split between the established PGA Tour and upstart LIV Golf could lead to a Super Bowl-like extravaganza that brings everyone together.

“You can look at it like the NFL and you could have NFC-AFC sort of working in their own fields and at the end they come together, put on a huge event at the end of the year,” said DeChambeau, who plays on the LIV circuit. “That could be really cool.”

If nothing else, major championships such as the Masters , which begins Thursday at Augusta National, provide a brief detente in this civil war of the links.

All the top players — from reigning Master champion Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka representing Team LIV to world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy teeing it up for the old guard — will be looking to not only claim a green jacket, but score bragging rights for their de facto team.

“Obviously, the more togetherness that you get, the better it is for everyone. There’s no doubt about that,” said Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters winner who bolted for LIV. “But there’s room for everyone. I don’t think that’s a problem at all.”

Even though LIV appears to have strengthened its hand with its stunning signing of Rahm , who was on the PGA Tour when he won at Augusta a year ago, there are actually five fewer players from the new tour than the 18 who played in 2023.

That’s largely because LIV events — with their smaller fields and 54-hole format — do not receive world ranking points, one of the main conduits for entry into the Masters.

Still, the Saudi-funded circuit has demonstrated that its top players can compete with the best of the PGA Tour.

Koepka and Phil Mickelson were runner-ups to Rahm a year ago at the Masters, and Koepka went on to capture his fifth career major title at the PGA Championship . Of the 27 major championships that have been staged since the beginning of 2017, 13 were won by golfers who now call LIV home.

Koepka took issue with those who say the split is ruining the game.

“Look, the best players in the world never got together week in, week out. I think that’s kind of forgotten,” Koepka said Tuesday. “It was the majors, (World Golf Championship tournaments) ... those were pretty much the 10 events where everyone was, for sure, going to be there. And then it was just kind of sprinkled in everywhere else. I think that’s kind of how it is” now.

But hard feelings remain, especially since a supposed merger agreement announced 10 months ago had yet to be finalized.

Just listen to Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion and outspoken critic of LIV.

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand it,” he said. “Now, everything can get better. But let me tell you, if the LIV tour is better for golf, I’m missing something there.”

Rahm acknowledged that when he accepted a reported $350 million offer to join LIV in December, he was hopeful that it would spur the two sides to reach some sort of reconciliation by the time the Masters rolled around.

Now, with a divide that seems as gaping as ever, he’s one of the most prominent faces on a tour that has been called everything from the future of the game — with its shotgun starts and team element — to a refuge of sellouts who are helping the Saudis sportswash the image of a repressive regime.

“It’s a bit of a detour on my path,” Rahm said. “But change can be better.”

Just how much things have changed was apparent from the attire he donned a year ago as he departed Augusta National to what he picked out for his practice rounds leading into this Masters.

Gone was the green jacket. Now he’s wearing a shirt emblazoned with a Legion XIII logo.

The team he now leads in LIV.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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Here’s how the 13 LIV golfers fared at the 2024 Masters

Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith led the way for LIV Golf.

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LIV Golfers proved they could still compete in majors last year when Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson finished T2 at the Masters and Koepka won the PGA Championship.

This year, the question was less about if they could hang with the stars of the PGA Tour, but how much longer they would still be in the field at the majors.

Previous major winners like Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and Phil Mickelson, among others, have plenty of starts left. But for others like Joaquin Niemann, who was the 13th and final member of LIV Golf to earn his invite to Augusta last week, it isn’t so clear cut.

Yet, the Chillean who has won two LIV events already this year and openly campaigned for a the special invite he received this week, is optimistic.

You just mentioned about coming back next year. Right now there’s no guarantees.

“We’ll find a way,” Niemann said.

While LIV golfers didn’t have the finish they had in 2023, taking three of the top six places and later adding winner Jon Rahm to their stable, many of them still factored into the tournament.

Check out a full breakdown of each LIV golfer’s performance at the 2024 Masters below.

Bryson DeChambeau

Finish:  T6 Scores:  65-73-75-73 (-2) How it happened:  DeChambeau put the whole tournament on notice when he opened with 65 behind a brutish display off the tee to take the first-round lead. But he never seemed to have the same mojo from mid-way through his back nine Friday through the end of the tournament. He managed to entertain the whole way by heaving up a patron sign and holing out on 18 Saturday to make it clear he’s still a serious threat in majors.

Cameron Smith

Finish:  T6 Scores:  71-72-72-71 (-2) How it happened: Smith had by far the most consistent week of anyone in the field, hanging around the entire tournament, but never really mounting a serious charge. He made 32 pars on the weekend despite hitting just 20 greens. His eagle on the 2nd Sunday brought him within four of Scheffler, but he didn’t make another birdie the rest of the tournament and gave one back at the 4th.

Tyrrell Hatton

Finish:  T9 Scores:  72-74-73-69 (E) How it happened: The third of the LIV trio to finish in the top-10, Hatton logged his best career finish at the Masters thanks to a final-round 69. The hot-headed Englishman was one of the hottest men on the course Sunday, getting to five under for the day before bogeys at 17 and 18 brought him back down to earth. One to regularly criticize Augusta National, Hatton said the famous par-5 15th “lives rent-free in my head. I hate it. I absolutely hate it.” His finish guarantees him an invite back next year.

Patrick Reed

Finish:  T12 Scores:  74-70-73-72 (+1) How it happened: The 2018 Masters champ also was critical of an Augusta National hole this week; the penultimate par-4 17th . After he hit a 215-yard drive off that tee Saturday, his caddie/brother-in-law Kessler Karain had some tough love for him. “I could barely advance the golf ball, and my caddie staring at me in the face and saying: ‘Your driving has cost us a lot this week.’”

Joaquin Niemann

Finish:  T22 Scores:  70-78-71-73 (+4) How it happened: After a solid opening round, Niemann was one of Augusta National’s many victims during a brutal Round 2. After a 78, he was never a factor despite eight weekend birdies.

Phil Mickelson

Finish:  T43 Scores:  73-75-74-74 (+8) How it happened: Armed with a new caddie, Mickelson was unable to replicate his historic magic from a year ago when a Sunday 65 propelled him into a tie for second. He had a relatively quiet week, although he did find a new way to play the 9th hole.

Brooks Koepka

Finish:  T45 Scores:  73-73-76-75 (+9) How it happened : The other co-runner-up from 2023, Koepka too had a quiet week after making a putter change in the run-up to the Masters. On Tuesday, however, he did raise some eyebrows when he seemed to indicate that he did, in fact, violate the rules last year, during a viral incident in the first round.

Finish:  T45 Scores:  73-76-72-76 (+9) How it happened : The final LIV golfer to make the cut also happened to be the defending champion. Rahm flirted with the cut line for a time Friday after three bogeys and a double had him on the number with four holes to play. Thankfully, back-to-back birdies, including a 50-foot bomb on 16, salvaged his week, meaning he wouldn’t have to stick around until Sunday just to hand out the green jacket.

Missed the cut

Sergio Garcia (+7) Bubba Watson (+10) Charl Schwartzel (+11) Dustin Johnson (+13) Adrian Meronk (+14)

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Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at [email protected] .

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A decade later, Guan's amateur splash at Masters Tournament remains a record

Ten years ago, red azaleas stretched above the Butler Cabin fireplace as 14-year-old Tianlang Guan accepted his award for low amateur at the 2013 Masters Tournament.

Seemingly overnight, Guan’s name became interchangeable with the words phenom and prodigy. But time has brought hardships over the last decade. Today, Tianlang spends his days in Guangzhou, China, fittingly nicknamed “The City of Flowers.” He’s 24 and hasn’t competed in a second major championship. His world ranking is 2,866.

Tianlang, known by friends as Langly, tested positive for COVID earlier this year, and while quarantined, he reflected on his time at Augusta National.

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“It was very helpful to play with Ben Crenshaw,” Guan recalled via email. “I remember talking about different routes to putt on No. 18 green with him. Our drives were about the same distance so I learned a lot just by watching the way he plays. Playing (a practice round) with Tiger was also a great experience. I had met him before in China, but the atmosphere and the crowd at the Masters was very different.”

Tianlang qualified for the Masters by winning the 2012 Asian-Pacific Amateur, and was one of six amateurs to reside in the Crow’s Nest. He spent Monday night watching Louisville beat Michigan in the NCAA title game, but by Friday evening, he was alone. 

“It was a great achievement to win low amateur and to be in the Butler Cabin on Masters Sunday,” he wrote. “Several other Chinese golfers have made it to the Masters and PGA Tour, and I know one day Chinese golf will shine on the biggest stage worldwide.”

At 14, Langly was the youngest competitor to make a cut in PGA Tour or major championship history. He’s also the youngest to play in a European Tour event — the 2012 Volvo China Open — at 13 years, 177 days.

The last decade, however, has proved trying. Tianlang spent two seasons at the University of Arizona, where he bounced in and out of the starting lineup. Following his sophomore season, he returned to China and turned pro.

As for his future, Guan wrote, “I will try to play more abroad this year since China lifted its COVID restrictions. I believe I will get back to Augusta one day soon.”