Holding his own among pros

HE may have been in the company of a few multiple-major winning golfing greats, but Chinese professional Li Hao-tong played beautifully to not only collect one of the biggest cheques of his career, but also hold off a host of Major champions to win the 2016 Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am.

The biennial event, which was established in 2010, teed off last weekend on the Blackstone Course at Mission Hills Haikou. A total of nine professional golfers were competing over two rounds of individual stableford for the US$1 million with Li picking up the winner's prize of US$250,000.

Scoring a total of 78 stableford points with rounds of consecutive 69s, Li finished one ahead of women's world number 14 Anna Nordqvist of Sweden. American professionals Mark O'Meara, Paula Creamer and Rich Beem, all Major winners, were a further point back in a tie for third.