China’s Li endures bittersweet debut in WGC-Mexico Championship

Chinese rising star Haotong Li enjoyed playing in the company of major champions Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson on Thursday but a two-over 73 in his debut appearance at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship left a bitter taste. The 22-year-old Li made two birdies against four bogeys at the Club Golf de Chapultepec, paying dearly for missing seven fairways and 10 greens in regulation as he ended the opening round in tied 49th position. “Actually, I played all right, just had a couple of bad tee shots but it’s just the distance is so hard to judge. For some reason, it went way further than when I played in the practice round. So I just need to get the perfect distance, judge the distance better. That’s all,â€� said Li, who claimed his second European Tour victory in Dubai last month. Starting his day from the 10th tee, the slender Li dropped a bogey on 12 with a three putt made up for it when he holed a 40-foot birdie at the par five 15th hole. Three more bogeys on three, four and eight pushed him down the leaderboard before he salvaged his day with a closing birdie from three feet on nine “The wind was kind of different … different in the practice round. It was quite tough out there, honestly,â€� he said. “Today I just played too safely, everything is iron tee shot. Tomorrow I need to go more with the driver.â€� Playing partners Watson and Mickelson both came home with 69s, four shots better than Li who believes his game can only benefit by watching the established PGA TOUR stars up close and personal. “Yeah, it was really fun. It was awesome to play with them and it’s good experience,â€� said Li.

Click here to read the full article…