The 'most handsome man in China' teeing off with Scheffler

Li Haotong will tee off in the final pairing of a major for the first time in his career

The leaderboard at the top of the 153rd Open Championship is stacked with familiar names such as major winners Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Matthew Fitzpatrick.

But Li Haotong from China, who last made the cut at the Open in 2018, is the nearest challenger to Scheffler heading into the final day.

It's an unlikely story as he looks to become the first player from China to win a men's major - and only the third from Asia after Hideki Matsuyama and Yang Yong-eun.

It would be a remarkable turn of events if Li could chase down the world number one, who holds a four-stroke advantage heading into the final round, and the 29-year-old has had a rollercoaster career to date.

He has even been dubbed the "most handsome man in China".

In a county of 1.4 billion people, that is quite the claim. Although according to Li, he was not the one who started it.

It appears his club manufacturer randomly stamped it on one of his wedges as a joke and now it's stuck.

He even revealed on Friday that he text a picture of his wedge to Phil Mickelson, who replied that it was a "shame" for China.

"It was fun", said Li.

Li came an impressive third on his Open debut in 2017 but things had not gone to plan since.

He was tied for 39th the following year but had failed to even make the cut at the championship since.

However, that changed this week when he vaulted up the leaderboard with a strong opening round of 67, replicated that score in his second outing, then produced another solid third round of 69 on Saturday to leave him in second place with 18 holes to play.

It's clear that Li prefers to do his talking on the course. And the fact he is in this position says a lot about his resilience.

He almost walked away from the sport in 2021 after a loss of form and injury, but bounced back to win the BMW Invitational Open the following June.

His form at Royal Portrush hasn't come as a total surprise as he worked his way back up the rankings to 111 in the world and ended a near three-year wait for a title when he won the Qatar International in February.

After his third round, Li said he was struggling with his swing and the "yips" over the past two years.

He said he did not know how he had bounced back but said it was a "miracle".

'I felt really bad' before Open

Li has emerged as an unlikely contender in Northern Ireland

To make his Open performance even more remarkable, Li said he restricted a lot of his practice to the range due to the size of the crowds in Portrush.

"I'll tell you what, the last couple weeks, I felt really, really bad to be honest," Li admitted.

"This week I hardly got on the course to play because I felt like there were so many people, with course being so packed.

"I just kind of hit a few balls on the range and wasn't comfortable. Even on our Thursday and Friday morning sessions, I wasn't.

"But until today, it was actually quite nice."

It's a feeling he will have to get used to. Unlike at the 2020 PGA Championship, when he led after 36 holes but fell away, he has stayed in touch in Northern Ireland.

And now, for the first time in his career he will head out on the closing day of a major in the final pairing.

All eyes will be on him, but it's a challenge he plans to embrace as he looks to shock Scheffler.

"I'm actually quite looking forward to it," he said.

"I'll just try to play my best out there and hopefully make something happen.

"It's going to be exciting."

As the underdog against the sport's heavy hitters, Li admits he has nothing to lose.

But as he said on Friday: "I think if I play my best, I can compete with anyone."