Haotong Li will take a share of the lead into the weekend of the Volvo China Open as he bids to win his national title for a second time.
Related: Tapio Pulkkanen pulls clear at Volvo China Open
After an opening two under par round of 69 at Enhance Anting Golf Club, the 29-year-old carded a blistering eight under 63 to move to ten under par at the halfway stage alongside Eugenio Chacarra and Tapio Pulkkanen.
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Li burst on to the scene nine years ago when he won his maiden DP World Tour title at the 2016 Volvo China Open, and he earned his fourth victory earlier this season at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
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Playing in the morning wave, he set the clubhouse target after carding six birdies and an eagle. He then was joined on ten under par by Chacarra after the Spaniard carded five birdies and a bogey in his four under round of 67.
The 25-year-old, who won the Hero Indian Open last month, moved into a share of the lead after reeling off four consecutive birdies from the fourth hole but dropped a shot with a bogey on the ninth.
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Chacarra then rejoined Li on ten under after a birdie on the 16th, but cut a concerned figure when he finished his round as he appeared to injure his thumb after catching the ground when he was forced to lay up on the final hole from the thick rough.
Overnight leader Tapio Pulkkanen, of Finland, birdied the last to join them at the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes, carding four birdies and three bogeys for a one under par second round of 70.
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Germany’s Jannik de Bruyn is two strokes back in fourth place on eight under par after a six under round of 65, while three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Zecheng Dou, who also carded a round of 65, sits in fifth on seven under.
Player Quotes
Haotong Li: “Everything seemed to go my way compared to yesterday. Just very pleased to see this result today.
“My putter was very hot today. I got a massively lucky break with my tee shot on the first, it could have been a double from there.
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“(My approach game) was very important. The greens were very soft compared to yesterday. I was as aggressive as usual and got my reward. It was a lot calmer. Almost no wind until the last few holes. It was a super calm day.
“I believe everyone has high expectations of me, which is good. I enjoy that pressure and support. Hopefully I can bring some good stuff for the weekend.”
Eugenio Chacarra: “I didn’t even check (the morning scores). I just tried to follow my plan, have fun, trust the process with my caddie and our game plan. There’s a lot of good players, so I know they’re going to go low. We executed what we thought was best for me.
“Ball-striking (on the front nine). All of my (birdies) were inside ten or 12 feet. I was hitting good numbers and on the back nine I had some middle numbers and played more conservative. It was one of those days. It could have been a low one. Nine, 10 and 11, nine I had a three putt, then on 10 and 11 I had looks for birdies. It’s part of the game.”
