Haotong Li, regarded as one of the best golfers China has produced, is preparing for another Open Championship appearance.
Early Success at Royal Birkdale
Li will be making his seventh appearance at The Open. Royal Birkdale is a venue where he enjoyed a strong debut, finishing third in 2017. He recorded three under-par rounds on the links course. Li finished behind only Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar, and ahead of Rory McIlroy.
During that 2017 Open, Li shot a final-round 63, which was the lowest major round ever recorded by a Chinese golfer. It nearly matched the Open record, but Branden Grace had shot a 62 the day before.
Remarkably, Li nearly withdrew from the Championship due to nerves. He persevered and made his mark by sinking eight birdies in his final 11 holes. According to Li, “Up until Saturday I played all right – then Sunday I started making some putts and everything started going my way.” Ernie Els, his playing partner, said of Li’s Sunday performance: “He didn’t miss a putt.”
Breaking Ground and Recent Form
Li became the first Chinese man to reach the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. He achieved this just 12 months after his impressive showing at Royal Birkdale.
He finished T39 at Carnoustie, showing further proficiency on the links. However, this was followed by three missed cuts in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
By the time he returned to The Open at Royal Portrush last year, Li had regained form. He had added two more DP World Tour titles to his resume, the BMW International (2022) and the Qatar Masters (2025).
Sharing the Lead at Royal Portrush
Li produced a bogey-free four-under-par 67 in the first round at Royal Portrush. This placed him in a tie for the lead with Harris English, Matt Fitzpatrick, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Jacob Skov Olesen.
Li momentarily took the outright lead on Friday when he birdied the 12th. He later reflected: “Last year I felt more part of The Open because I was part of that elite group all the way from Thursday.”
A third round 69 secured a place in Sunday’s final group alongside Scottie Scheffler, though he was four shots back. Li ultimately tied for fourth place.
“I felt like I was playing a practice round with him,” said Li of playing with Scheffler. He added that he was just looking at Scheffler and thinking “Yeah, he’s gonna win.’”
Li held the 36-hole lead at the 2020 PGA Championship. He appears to relish the big occasion.