LI HAOTONG began his second round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, the United States, on Friday.

The 22-year-old from China opened the day three shots off the lead after finishing with a 69 on the first day of the tournament. For close to an hour, his name was atop those white leaderboards around Augusta National with Tony Finau until Jordan Spieth took over.

Li qualified for the Masters by closing with a 63 at Royal Birkdale in the British Open last summer. Earlier this year, he rallied to beat Rory McIlroy in a duel at the Dubai Desert Classic that allowed him to crack the top 50 in the world for the first time. Li won four times on smaller circuits as a teenager, winning the Order of Merit on the PGA Tour China Series. He won his first European Tour event in 2016 at the Volvo Open in China. (SD-Agencies)