AUGUSTA, Ga. — Haotong Li has fought 90 other Masters players and Augusta National’s 18 holes.
And his belly.
Friday, the pro followed up a one-under 71 in the first round with a 69 in Round 2, and he’s tied for seventh and eight shots back of leader Rory McIlroy after 36 holes. But it wasn’t easy, because he said he felt queasy.
After his second round, he said he was surprised by his play.
“Especially went to the toilet last night a lot of times,” the Chinese pro said, “and this morning when I got to the golf course and still feeling really bad and kind of, like, live in the toilet.
“I didn’t hit many balls on the driving range. I was feeling really, really bad. No energy, fuzzy, want to throw up something. I actually just planned to play a few holes, see how it goes. If really sick, then I probably just decide not to.
“So glad I survived today.”
You couldn’t tell from his scorecard he was struggling, especially late. Li bogeyed 4 and 7 after a birdie on 2. He birdied the par-5 13th after somehow avoiding Rae’s Creek in front of the green with his second shot. He birdied the par-4 14th after nearly holing out for eagle. He birdied the par-5 15th after pitching to a couple feet after hitting over the green with his second shot. (“Was super tough chip over there,” he said.) He birdied the par-3 16th after nearly acing the hole.
Afterward, Li said he was feeling better, which led to an obvious question: Did Augusta National and the Masters cure him?
“Definitely,” Li said. “Major makes me feeling good.”
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