Li is back at US Open as a pro, seeking more than ice cream

Throughout my career in teaching golf, I’ve come across child prodigies who have been able to play golf at a standard way ahead of their years.

When I was coaching in China, I remember well the excitement of Lucy Li, a California-born American of Chinese descent, playing in the US Women’s Open when she was just 11 years old.

Li’s stardom began when she qualified for the US Women’s Open in 2014, becoming the youngest to ever qualify for the championship.

She didn’t just win her qualifier but did so by seven shots. Her sweet demeanour and colourful outfits charmed the crowd immediately, but it was her incredible skill at such a young age that impressed many and her coach was immediately booked out.

Li returns the US Women’s Open this week, at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, as an 18-year-old hometown favourite who turned professional in 2019 and gone are the…