Chinese golfer Li Haotong moves into second at Sony Open as Japan’s rising amateur star Keita Nakajima lies fifth after impressive 64

China’s Li Haotong kept his sights firmly on a title assault at the Sony Open in Hawaii with a second round 5-under 65 on on Friday as Japanese world amateur No 1 Keita Nakajima reinforced his credentials as a rising star.

Li, once a top-50 golfer in the world but now ranked 460th, maintained his resurgence by firing six birdies and one bogey at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu where his 12-under 128 total left him in solo second and three behind 36-hole leader Russell Henley.

The 21-year-old Nakajima bounced back from an early bogey as he fired seven birdies in his last 11 holes for an impressive 64 to stand at 9-under in a share of fifth place alongside countryman and Masters champion, Hideki Matsuyama, who carded a 65 in the US$7.5 million PGA Tour tournament.

The last two years have been one to forget for the 26-year-old Li as his form dipped after bursting onto the scene with two wins on the DP World Tour. He also finished third at the 2017 Open Championship, featured in the 2019 Presidents Cup and held the 36-hole lead at the 2020 PGA Championship before finishing T17.

The Chinese was delighted to move into contention. “First few holes wasn’t quite on, especially on my tee shot, but luckily kind of have good recovery. I played great on my back nine, a lot of putts, and play super solid,” Li, who opened with a 63 on Thursday, said.

Since last year, Li began working with Jamie Mulligan, who also coaches reigning FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay, and the signs have been encouraging which include two runner-up finishes in domestic events towards the end of last year. “I just need to hit a lot of good tee shot again and try to keep the ball in play and put it in the right positions,” he said.