Li Hoatong: Who is the Chinese golfer challenging Scottie Scheffler for The Open?

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.”