SOUTHPORT, England (AP) – Li Haotong crept into unexpected contention at the British Open with the round of his life on Sunday.
It didn’t win him the claret jug, but it earned him a place at the Masters.
The 21-year-old Chinese golfer became the fourth player to shoot 63 in the final round of a major, after Jodie Mudd (Birkdale, 1991), Payne Stewart (Royal St. George’s, 1993) and Henrik Stenson (Royal Troon, 2016). The 7-under round moved him to 6 under overall and after being just two shots off the lead at one stage, he finished in third place and six shots behind champion Jordan Spieth.
Ernie Els, Li’s playing partner, had a front-row seat of a bogey-free round containing seven birdies – four coming in the final four holes – and just 25 putts.
“I could see he wasn’t backing off,” Els said. “You see some guys get a little bit scared, but he kept going. So it was really special to see.”