Haotong Li

Haotong Li shot 63 in the final round of The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale to finish third in only his second major appearance.

It was the lowest major round ever by a Chinese golfer and would have matched the overall record but for the fact that 24 hours earlier Branden Grace produced the first-ever 62.

He is now a four-time winner on the DP World Tour and in July claimed his return to the Championship thanks to this season’s Tour rankings, having triumphed by one stroke at February’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters thanks to a closing 15-foot birdie putt.

That was not his most dramatic victory, though. At the 2022 BMW International Open in Germany he sank a 50-foot birdie putt to defeat Thomas Pieters in a play-off.

Four years earlier, meanwhile, he birdied four of the last six holes in beating Rory McIlroy by one at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

It took him to a career-high 32nd on the world rankings, but a year ago he was not even in the top 500 before starting a comeback which has also included a runner-up finish in May’s Turkish Airlines Open and two fourth placed finishes.