Haotong Li birdied four holes in a row on the back nine to grab a share of the first-round lead at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.
The Chinese star, who won this season’s Qatar Masters and has four further top-five finishes including last month’s Open Championship, carded a six-under 66 at The Belfry to join Matthias Schwab, Thomas Aiken and Marcel Siem at the top.
Li bounced back from an opening bogey with seven birdies in his next 17 holes, finishing in style with gains at 14, 15, 16 and 17.
“I’m very pleased, especially because I just got out from that time off and I felt a little bit rusty the first few holes,” Li said. “My driver is still quite off, but I just hit a lot of mini drivers off the deck and put myself in play. My approach play was sharp as usual, so I gave myself a lot of birdie chances.”
Austrian Schwab matched Li’s 66 thanks to two eagles, four birdies and two bogeys.
“I took care of the par fives with two eagles and a birdie, which is nice,” Schwab said. “Everything is going in the right direction – I just need to show it on the course. Today was a great day.”
South African Aiken rolled in seven birdies against a lone bogey, while Germany’s Siem also posted seven birdies, five of them coming on the back nine.
“I was a bit rusty after a five-week break, but I’m really pleased,” said Siem. “The back nine was fantastic. I gained a lot of confidence.”
Home favourite Matt Fitzpatrick sits just one shot back on five under alongside Japan’s Keita Nakajima.
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Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Article Link: Li surges late to join logjam at British Masters