Li aims to extend streak
Print Edition
China’s rising sensation Li Haotong hopes his life-changing win over Rory McIlroy will pave the way for another title quest at this week’s Maybank Championship in Malaysia.
The 22-year-old became the first Chinese men’s golfer to break into the world top 50 after he edged four-time Major winner McIlroy at the Dubai Desert Classic this week.
Brimming with confidence after outclassing the Irishman, the now 32nd-ranked Li is aiming for another good outing.
“Sometimes one week can change everything, sometimes it doesn’t happen. My game is pretty solid, and I’ve been putting well,” said Li, ahead of today’s opening round.
“This week I’ll try to save as much energy and have low scores. It’s a little bit warmer out here, but I’ll go out and try to enjoy the pressure. The key is good tee shots and to get low scores.”
In Kuala Lumpur three weeks ago, Li gave Team Asia 2-1/2 points in its 10-14 defeat to Europe at the Ryder Cup-style EurAsia Cup.
Top-ranked Henrik Stenson, who played for Team Europe, is expected to contend with Li at the US$3-million event as he seeks his first individual victory on Asian soil.
“Now I would like to get an individual victory in Asia, and this is one of the opportunities,” said Stenson, 41.
“If you’ve got a chance to win a golf tournament anywhere in the world these days, you’ve got to play well and we’ll see if we can get that going this week.”
The world No. 12 from Sweden is in good form coming into the European Tour and Asian Tour event after consecutive top-10 finishes at the Abu Dhabi Championship and Dubai.
Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger will also be optimistic of another good week after creating fond memories at the Maybank Championship last year.
The 32-year-old carved his name into the record books after becoming the first player in European Tour history to notch nine consecutive birdies.
Also in the hunt is Paraguay’s defending champion Fabrizio Zanotti, who produced one of the biggest comebacks of 2017 to win by a single stroke.
Joining in the title race are Thailand’s big hitter Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Englishman Lee Westwood, who previously won the Malaysian Open.
Meanwhile, former world No. 1s Jason Day and McIlroy returned to the top 10 in the rankings on Tuesday, after the Australian’s victory at Torrey Pines and McIlroy’s second-placed finish in Dubai.
The 30-year-old Day jumped up four places after edging out Alex Noren in a playoff at the Farmers Insurance Open on Monday, after darkness had brought an early halt the previous day, to claim his first title since the 2016 Players Championship.
Four-time major winner McIlroy slipped out of the top 10 last year after failing to win in a season for the first time since 2008, but he moved up three spots to eighth.
Spaniard Jon Rahm closed the gap on world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, despite falling out of contention at Torrey Pines when a successful title defense would have seen him overhaul the American.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
