Haotong Li Player Profile And What's In The Bag

Haotong Li ended a four-year wait for a DP World Tour title in style as he beat Thomas Pieters in a play-off with a gigantic birdie putt to complete a stunning wire-to-wire victory at the BMW International Open in Munich.

Li said: "I never thought that one day I would have a trophy in my hands again. It’s a dream come true.

"Thomas played great all day. My putter wasn’t as hot as yesterday. Golf, this is golf. Sometimes things go your way, sometimes not. I’m just so happy to finish on 18 like that.

"Somehow I thought that I would make that putt in the play-off. I don’t know how I made that stroke, how the ball went in the hole, because at the end of the day the greens were very bumpy. You just never know.

"No-one knows how much I have gone through over the past couple of years. Ten months ago I nearly decided to not play golf. I thought I couldn’t play golf again. 

"Ten months later, right now, holding a trophy. If someone told me ten months ago I would win again, I wouldn’t believe that. 

"I didn’t realise I could be that emotional. Maybe just because I never thought golf could be that tough. 

"Through a lot of tough times, I realised how good that feeling is to play good again."

The Chinese star made a dream start to Sunday's final round, with three birdies in his first five holes extending his three-shot overnight lead to five.

But four bogeys and a solitary birdie in his next ten holes opened the door for the chasing pack and he was joined at the top of the leaderboard with three to play.

Li rediscovered the form that had seen him equal the course record at Golfclub München Eichenried on Thursday in the closing stages, though, making birdies at the 16th and 17th to regain a one-shot lead heading down the last.

But his birdie putt on the 18th green lipped out, and with Pieters safely securing his birdie, the contest had to be decided by a play-off.

And after narrowly avoiding the water with his approach at the first play-off hole, Li managed to get up and down for a closing birdie thanks to a monster putt.

That piled the pressure on Pieters to hole his tricky ten-footer and he was unable to do so, handing victory to an emotional Li, who admitted afterwards that he had been considering quitting golf just ten months ago.

Who is Haotong Li?

Li was born in Miluo City in China in August 1995. He qualified for the PGA Tour China in 2014, where he won three times, led the tour's Order of Merit to earn Web.com Tour status, and was the first Chinese member of the Web.com Tour. 

He won the Volvo China Open in 2016 and the Dubai Desert Classic two years later. He finished in a tie for third place at The Open at Royal Birkdale in 2017 thanks to a final round of 63. He led the 2020 PGA Championship at the halfway stage before finishing in a tie for 17th place. 

He has recently endured a slump in form but has shown some better form this season, finishing tied sixth at the ISPS Handa Championship in Spain and tied 18th at the Porsche European Open. 

He averages 310.81 yards from the tee (13 yards further than he achieved in 2021) but hits only 44.31% of fairways. He hits 65% of greens in regulation and averages 28.41 putts per round. He began the week at the BMW International Open 55th in the DP World Tour standings and 281st in the world rankings.

What's In Haotong Li's Bag?

• Stealth Plus 9.0 Carbonwood driver
• SIM Max 15.0 fairway
• Stealth 19.0 rescue
• P·7MC 4-9 iron
• MG3 46 & 50 SB
• MG3 TW 56