Haotong Li has TESTY exchange with caddie following 18th hole double bogey at Bay Hill
Haotong Li's double bogey on the final hole at Bay Hill Thursday included a putt from one of the bunker's behind the 18th green. While the ball did roll out, it just barely trickled out of the rough and into the fringe. It caused a bit of a laugh riot in the Golf Channel booth.
For Haotong, it was no laughing matter.
At that point, Li was already three over on his round, having started two under through six holes and then going bogey-triple bogey at the seventh and eighth. He played the next nine in one over before arriving at the 18th, where he found the fairway off the tee and then went long with his approach, settling up what new Golf Channel analyst Jim Furyk described as "not that easy" of a bunker shot.
"If you get caught on the upslope, you've got a chance," Furyk said. "But he's on the downslope, and I think the lie got him."
Li's ball was slightly buried, making it even more difficult with the water lurking on the other side. He would not be able to put much spin on the ball, so he opted for the putter. It wasn't a terrible result, but Li wasn't having it:
As Furyk said, taking the water out of play was a smart move, but this still left him with a slick putt down the hill for par that Li rolled 14 feet past the hole. He missed the ensuing bogey putt and tapped in for a double and an opening-round 77.
He was hot afterward, to say the least:
Woof, we don't want to assume anything, but it looks quite clear he's letting his caddie hear it. So much so he had spit coming out of his mouth. Considering he went long, one of the places you really cannot go on this hole, perhaps there was a miscommunication on the approach. Either way, not the best look to take it out on the bag man when you're the one hitting the shots.