'I was living in the toilet': Li overcomes illness to surge into Masters contention

The 30-year-old from China revealed he had been unwell overnight and arrived at the course still struggling, unsure if he would even make it through a few holes. Instead, he completed all 18 to reach four under par, sitting just two shots behind then clubhouse leader Sam Burns before Rory McIlroy later surged ahead.

Asked if he was surprised by his performance given the circumstances, Li said: "I am, actually. Especially [because I went] to the toilet last night a lot of times.

"This morning when I got to the golf course [I was] still feeling really bad and kind of living in the toilet."

After opening with a 71, Li made a strong start on Friday with a birdie at the first but slipped to one over at the turn following bogeys at the fourth and seventh. He recovered superbly on the back nine, reeling off four consecutive birdies from the 13th to climb the leaderboard heading into the weekend.

Playing his first Masters since 2019, Li admitted his preparation had been far from ideal.

"I didn't hit many balls on the driving range. I was feeling really, really bad. No energy, fuzzy, want to throw up something.

"I actually just planned to play a few holes, see how it goes. If really sick, then I probably just decide not to. I'm glad I survived today."