Rory McIlroy admitted he was “pretty nervous” on the first few holes when he played Tiger Woods for the first time at Sherwood in 2010. Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Hideki Matsuyama, Matt Kuchar, and many more have said the same. McIlroy, Scott, Leishman, and others have admitted nervousness—not from fear, but from Woods’ aura. PGA Tour pro Haotong Li was nervous, too, but the American professional put him at ease with an unusual move you rarely see from Tiger Woods.

Speaking in a YouTube video for the DP World Tour, the Chinese professional revealed a story from the 2019 Masters, where Woods had slapped his a**. By 2019, he had won the 2016 Volvo China Open and the 2018 Dubai Desert Classic. He had finished third at the 2017 Open and become the first male Chinese golfer to enter the world top 50.

“I was funny on Friday afternoon; he [Tiger Woods] obviously played so well that afternoon. I played with Jon Rahm and him, and I never heard any crowd being crazy like that, and never heard anything like that before, even now. And on, I think, I made a cut already on 18th, just about to walk on the green. Tiger slap on my ass and he goes, I have like about six feet for birdie and he slap on my a** and goes, Haotong [indecipherable]. In my deep heart, I was like, Tiger just slapped on my a** man,” Haotong Li said.

Li said that he couldn’t make the birdie on the 18th, but Woods still praised his game. He wasn’t just a star-struck novice at that point.

The Chinese professional said that his manager had already told him that he could be paired with Tiger Woods. However, he wasn’t sure and told his manager that if he was joking, he should stop. But when Li saw the draw on Tuesday morning, he got nervous. He started to think that he might end up hitting a round of ninety because of the nervousness.

One of the core reasons behind the nervousness was thinking about the crowd that would be following Woods. But Li noted that there weren’t too many people on Thursday, which made him a little relaxed. The two interacted on the opening day, when Li told the veteran golfer that playing with him was a dream come true for the Chinese pro, and Woods responded that they would have fun.

Both of them played well at Augusta National that year. Tiger Woods, obviously, went on to win his 15th and final major championship. Haotong Li, on the other hand, finished tied for 43rd. Li had carded rounds of 72-74 while playing alongside Woods in the first two rounds. He then added rounds of 73-68 to finish at one-under 287.

But this isn’t an isolated incident because Woods has a habit of trying to make his playing partner feel less intimidated by him through such actions. For instance, when playing with Kevin Na at the 2019 Players Championship, Woods mimicked the Korean-American professional. After a birdie on the par-three 17th, Na did his trademark quick walk toward the cup. After making his own birdie, Woods mimicked the walk. He later said that he tried to “emulate him as best I possibly could.”

Another similar incident came at the 2022 Open Championship. Woods was filmed teasing Justin Thomas around the St Andrews putting green. He was reportedly referring to Thomas never having won The Open.

Similarly, while Haotong Li was feeling nervous, the American professional helped him feel comfortable.

Away from that confidence boost, Li battles a different opponent: his own mental game.

Haotong Li opens up about his alter ego

Li entered the RBC Canadian Open after missing eight of the 10 recent starts. After rounds of 67 and 64, he was nine-under and second on the leaderboard midway. He credited his caddie, Geno Bonnalie, who had filled in for a week because of visa issues with his regular caddie, Jady de Beer.

The Chinese professional also praised his iron play and said he could get an extra hour of sleep because he was staying on the property. However, he said that it was the mental game that he had got right at the RBC Canadian Open.

“I just keep telling myself that, bad thoughts don’t come to me, don’t talk to me, leave me alone, and it’s kind of worked so far,” Li said in a post-round conference.

He said that he was struggling with the missed cuts. He went to see his psychologist, who told him to ask the ‘bad Haotong’ to leave when he comes in. Li did exactly that at the RBC Canadian Open.

However, it seemed to work only for a while, because Li carded rounds of 79-69 during the weekend. As a result, he finished tied for 60th at one-under 279.

Haotong Li’s story with Tiger Woods shows how a simple gesture can ease the pressure of playing with a legend. Away from those memorable moments, though, Li has also had to find ways to quiet his own ‘bad Haotong’ and regain the confidence needed to perform at his best.