Haotong Li’s second shot landed in the creek, triggering an unusual penalty. Playing the par-5 10th hole in the third round at the Amgen Irish, Li’s ball ended up in the creek on the left side of the bunker. He received a penalty, but not for drop relief. It was for replacing the ball at its estimated original spot.

“Haotong Li breaches Rule 9.4b – a penalty for Lifting or Deliberately Touching Ball or Causing it to Move. One stroke penalty and the ball is replaced on its original spot (which was estimated),” the DP World Tour revealed via an X post.

Li’s second shot on the 10th hole went into the creek, but it was playable because the water level was very low. But when he entered the water, waves moved the ball, resulting in a penalty. Confused by the situation, he called for an official in the video posted by the DP World Tour.

The video shows Li and the officials trying to reconstruct the ball’s original lie. Only part of the ball was visible, but the group could not identify its exact position. Several people discussed adjusting the ball before agreeing on an estimated location.

The official even gave the Chinese professional the option to take an extra penalty and receive drop relief, but Li wanted to play from the water. The challenge, though, was that he had to hit the ball from the same stance he used to place it, because if he lifted his feet and dropped it inside the water, the waves would again cause the ball to move. He eventually incurred a penalty and ended up with a bogey on the 10th.

After a 326-yard drive, his second shot landed in the creek, triggering a penalty. Li then hit a 19-yard chip shot onto the green, but missed a 13-footer putt, leaving seven inches for the bogey.

This incident derailed his momentum, as the round went downhill from there. After seven pars, Li eagled the eighth with a 20-footer, reaching 10-under through nine. This took his collective score to 10-under through nine holes in the third round.

Thus, his third round turned from two-under through nine holes to two-over by the end of the round. From tied for third, he dropped to tied for sixth with a cumulative score of six-under 204 after 54 holes.

Despite the frustrating back nine, Li is still in contention because of the first two rounds of 69-63. His second round of 63 was especially game-changing, in which he scored two bogeys, seven birdies, and an eagle. In Round 2, he led the field in putting average with a score of 22 against a tournament average of 29.1. He also impressed with Green in Regulation (GIR). With a score of 1.6, he was 11th in the field in this aspect.

It will be challenging for Li to cover a gap of 10 strokes between him and the leader, Shane Lowry. The Irish professional has carded rounds of 67-62-65 so far to take a massive lead despite a weather-affected opening round. Jacob Skov Olesen was co-leading with Lowry midway through Round 3, but is now four strokes behind him.

Li now faces a tough final round, but his earlier performances have shown he can make a powerful push up the leaderboard.