HAOTONG LI POSES WITH THE BMW INTERNATIONAL OPEN TROPHY GETTY IMAGES
26 JUNE, 2022 - DP WORLD TOUR: Li Haotong returned to the winner's circle after a four-year absence as he defeated Thomas Pieters in a play-off to win his third DP World Tour title at the BMW International Open.
The 26-year-old held a three-stroke lead over Pieters at the start of the final day at Golfclub München Eichenried and had a putt on the 18th green in regulation to win the title, but lipped out from 11 feet, tapping in for a par and signing for a two under par 70 and 22 under par total.
In the play-off on the par five 18th hole, Pieters, who carded a five under par final round 67, found a green-side bunker with his second shot, while Li's approach went over the green. After Pieters had chipped to ten feet, Li thinned his third shot, leaving the prospect of holing a 40-footer just to stay in the contest.
But Li produced a moment of magic as he holed his putt for birdie, with Pieters pushing his effort past the hole, giving Li his first victory in more than four years as he was overcome with emotion in front of the packed galleries in Munich.
Li also secured a place at The 150th Open at St Andrews next month after moving up to 17th on the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, securing one of five spots for those not otherwise exempt inside the top 20 on the season-long standings after the BMW International Open. "Hard work does pay off. To be fair, there’s a little story behind today. Ten months ago I met my friend Zhi (Yang), who is my caddie now. That first week I said to him ‘Dude, I don’t want to play golf anymore’ I probably needed to do something else. It’s him always outside, always taking care of me. I give so much s*** to him, get so mad at him so often, struggling, he was with me through the dark times, all the time. Just so many guys I need to thank. My parents, my mom, my dad, my sister, family, my sponsors, you guys, the boys. I can’t say enough" said the Chinese Golfer.
"Yesterday we finished late, so I thought I needed some practice. I couldn’t eat or sleep last night. I probably slept five hours max, but I dreamed about holding the trophy. Things have happened to me again. It’s just incredible.
"On 16 I thought I hit a tree and it could have gone anywhere. Luckily it was there. I didn’t see the bounce. As soon as I had that chip I thought I had a chance to tie the score. Luckily I did and 17 was super important. I kept telling myself I had to make them. Same as 18, I probably hit it a little bit hard. Somehow the image when I was versus Rosey and Rory, the image, the feeling just came out. I felt like I would make the putt, but I didn’t. But the play-off hole was a treat. Some treat.
"The tee shot (on the play-off hole) was slightly better than yesterday. But not really. I hit the same tree again but luckily went through it. The lie wasn’t great. Normally it would be a four iron, but I hit a hybrid, open-faced, tried to cut it and go for the green because it’s a play-off hole. You have to go aggressive and I pushed it a tiny bit. I thought it would stop on the green, but I was still lucky it. I placed the lie, I couldn’t ask for any better…and I thinned it. Somehow I made the putt. Even after that one, I thought Tom will make the putt and get ready for a second play-off hole. A normal guy would win, but I’m the opposite. Luckily I’m on the right side today."
Ryan Fox's superb run of form continued as he finished in solo third on 20 under par while Finland's Sami Välimäki finished fourth on 18 under.
The 26-year-old held a three-stroke lead over Pieters at the start of the final day at Golfclub München Eichenried and had a putt on the 18th green in regulation to win the title, but lipped out from 11 feet, tapping in for a par and signing for a two under par 70 and 22 under par total.
In the play-off on the par five 18th hole, Pieters, who carded a five under par final round 67, found a green-side bunker with his second shot, while Li's approach went over the green. After Pieters had chipped to ten feet, Li thinned his third shot, leaving the prospect of holing a 40-footer just to stay in the contest.
But Li produced a moment of magic as he holed his putt for birdie, with Pieters pushing his effort past the hole, giving Li his first victory in more than four years as he was overcome with emotion in front of the packed galleries in Munich.
Li also secured a place at The 150th Open at St Andrews next month after moving up to 17th on the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, securing one of five spots for those not otherwise exempt inside the top 20 on the season-long standings after the BMW International Open. "Hard work does pay off. To be fair, there’s a little story behind today. Ten months ago I met my friend Zhi (Yang), who is my caddie now. That first week I said to him ‘Dude, I don’t want to play golf anymore’ I probably needed to do something else. It’s him always outside, always taking care of me. I give so much s*** to him, get so mad at him so often, struggling, he was with me through the dark times, all the time. Just so many guys I need to thank. My parents, my mom, my dad, my sister, family, my sponsors, you guys, the boys. I can’t say enough" said the Chinese Golfer.
"Yesterday we finished late, so I thought I needed some practice. I couldn’t eat or sleep last night. I probably slept five hours max, but I dreamed about holding the trophy. Things have happened to me again. It’s just incredible.
"On 16 I thought I hit a tree and it could have gone anywhere. Luckily it was there. I didn’t see the bounce. As soon as I had that chip I thought I had a chance to tie the score. Luckily I did and 17 was super important. I kept telling myself I had to make them. Same as 18, I probably hit it a little bit hard. Somehow the image when I was versus Rosey and Rory, the image, the feeling just came out. I felt like I would make the putt, but I didn’t. But the play-off hole was a treat. Some treat.
"The tee shot (on the play-off hole) was slightly better than yesterday. But not really. I hit the same tree again but luckily went through it. The lie wasn’t great. Normally it would be a four iron, but I hit a hybrid, open-faced, tried to cut it and go for the green because it’s a play-off hole. You have to go aggressive and I pushed it a tiny bit. I thought it would stop on the green, but I was still lucky it. I placed the lie, I couldn’t ask for any better…and I thinned it. Somehow I made the putt. Even after that one, I thought Tom will make the putt and get ready for a second play-off hole. A normal guy would win, but I’m the opposite. Luckily I’m on the right side today."
Ryan Fox's superb run of form continued as he finished in solo third on 20 under par while Finland's Sami Välimäki finished fourth on 18 under.
