Haotong Li wins BMW International Open 2022, ending four-year winless drought 08:30, 27/06/2022

On Sunday, Chinese golfer Haotong Li completed a wire-to-wire victory at the BMW International Open, ending his four-and-a-half year wait for his third-career DP World Tour win.

Haotong Li had held the lead at the end of every round in Munich, including equalling his career-best round and the course record with a 10-under-par 62 on the opening day. He carded rounds of 62, 67 and 67 to hold a three-shot lead going into the final day.

*"I had no idea I could win this playoff”, Haotong Li said.*

However, his 2-under 70 Sunday was his worst of the tournament, and Li looked like he might have blown his chance when both him and Thomas Pieters finished their final rounds locked at 22-under par, with the 18th hole then coming back into play for the first play-off hole.

The Chinese player approached the green well, but then a very heavy-handed chip left him in big trouble after Pieters had successfully come out of the bunker.

The 26-year-old golfer, who had missed a putt to win the title outright at the end of his final round, then stunned the crowd by finding the hole from 50ft and roared in delight when Pieters was unable to extend the play-off. That’s when Li was overcome with emotion, dropping to his knees and earned $416,000 for the win.

*Haotong Li claims his third-career DP World Tour win*

"I knew it was going to be super tough and I just kept thinking to hang in there. Win or lose, I just wanted to play my best out there and luckily I did."

His last win came at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2018 when he finished one shot ahead of Rory McIlroy. Since then, he has dropped as low as 542nd in the world rankings.

It is his third win on the DP World Tour and he is set to rise 38 places to 17th in the DP World Tour Rankings. Pieters is due to rise to fourth in the season-long points list.

*Just 10 months ago, Haotong Li was seriously considering walking away fromgolf.*

"Ten months ago... I just literally decided to quit golf. Somehow, where I am now, it's hard to describe," Li said. "I had no idea I could win this playoff. Luckily, things happened for me again."

It was a huge turnaround from 2021, when he had a stretch of 13 missed cuts in 16 outings, admitting after the tournament that 10 months ago he considered quitting the game. At his lowest position during 2021, he was ranked 542nd in the world.