Haotong Li overcome with emotion after ending four-year winless drought at BMW Worldwide Open
Haotong Li overcome with emotion after ending four-year winless drought at BMW Worldwide Open
[ad_1]
And what a approach to finish it -- after a nail-biting last day, Li sunk the 40-foot birdie putt of a lifetime to beat Thomas Pieters within the playoff and clinch victory on the BMW Worldwide Open in Munich.
Shouting and pumping his fists wildly, Li embraced his caddie earlier than overlaying his face and sinking to his knees on the inexperienced. Visibly overcome with emotion, the golfer's ardour continued into his post-win interview.
"The place I'm now ... it is f**king golf it is simply f**king laborious to explain," Li instructed a reporter from the DP World Tour.
"10 months in the past I simply determine to stop golf, and someway the place I'm now ... I had no concept I might have received this playoff.
"I did not notice I could possibly be that emotional, possibly simply because I by no means thought golf could possibly be that powerful. By way of lots of powerful occasions, I spotted how good that feeling is to play good once more," he added.
After a third place end at The Open in 2017 and a second win on the DP World Tour (previously the European Tour) a yr later that noticed him pip four-time main winner Rory McIlroy in Dubai, Li had endured a barren run.
Final yr, he missed the reduce in 13 of his 16 event appearances, along with his joint 14th place end on the Alfred Dunhill Hyperlinks Championship in October his solely high 60 results of the season. At his lowest place throughout 2021, he was ranked 542nd on the earth.
Two top-six outings in February and April respectively ensured a significantly better begin to 2022, earlier than Li set a brand new peak with a scintillating course-record 10-under 62 on the opening spherical in Munich on Thursday.
Two eagles and 6 birdies ensured the 26-year-old led from the entrance, with back-to-back 67's leaving Li main by three strokes heading into the ultimate day.
He made a scintillating begin Sunday with three birdies throughout the primary 5 holes, however 4 bogeys by the sixteenth gap noticed his benefit evaporate with three to play. Belgium's Pieters completed strongly with two birdies throughout the ultimate three holes to power a play-off, leaving Li to surprise if he was about to endure but extra heartbreak.
"I believed I simply gave one other probability away and I simply cannot let that may occur to me once more," Li mentioned.
"I already knew it was going to be tremendous powerful and I simply saved telling myself 'cling on in there' ... fortunately I did."
The win sees Li take house €340,000 (roughly $358,836) in prize cash.
[ad_2]
0 comments: