Haotong Li Denies Mocking Bryson DeChambeau Over Tournament Performance
Image Credits: via Imagn Images
Image Credits: via Imagn Images
Chinese professional golfer Li Haotong recently found himself in a precarious situation involving American golf sensation Bryson DeChambeau. The Chinese professional golfer issued a fierce denial following viral rumors claiming he mocked Bryson DeChambeau’s recent tournament performances.
On May 21, the Instagram golf profile, ‘Ways To Golf’, posted an update, claiming that Li had made some unsavory comments regarding the nine-time PGA Tour winner. An hour after the update, Li reposted the post again on his own Instagram, denying the claims.
“That’s a false rumor! I would never say something like that. He is major champion, and I’ve always looked up to him.”
‘Ways To Golf’ had posted an update on their Instagram page claiming that Li had commented on DeChambeau’s decision to focus on YouTube. The page claimed that Li dismissed DeChambeau’s work ethic, stating that he only plays tournaments on Thursday and Friday, and that he missed the cut for most.
“He can do both easily. He’s only been playing tournaments on Thursday and Friday and gets cut. So he has the weekend to do YouTube stuff.”
The post also claimed that Li believed that DeChambeau could focus on golf on the weekends. As the finals rounds of any major tournament occur during the weekend, this directly implies that DeChambeau cannot get into the final rounds.
DeChambeau has recently missed the cuts for both the 2026 Masters and the 2026 PGA Championship. While the alleged comments from Li could have been referencing them, this would be a clear breach of common etiquette.
But Li immediately shut down all such rumors, with the hashtag respect against the caption of his Instagram post, where he also tagged DeChambeau.
Such inaccurate reporting can have real-world aftermath, which is why the Instagram account that posted the update took prompt action.
Instagram Account Takes Prompt Action Over Li-DeChambeau Controversy
The Instagram account that initially posted the update about Li’s comments on DeChambeau took immediate action to remedy the blunder.
Just after Li posted his clarification on the matter, the account dropped a comment about their stance under Li’s post. They were apologetic and took a drastic step to make sure such a lapse does not occur again.
“We have fired our social media intern due to this, our deepest condolences to the goat”
The page claims that the post was an error on the part of an intern, attributing the mistake to lack of experience.
While the page does claim responsibility, public opinion has not been kind, with significant backlash in response to their comments. Notably, the page has yet to take down the initial post that had accused Li of such remarks.
Do you think Bryson DeChambeau can balance his professional golf with his YouTube ventures? Let us know in the comments.
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