China's Haotong Li shines with T4 at The Open Championship, earns masters return

China’s Haotong Li proved he truly belonged to be alongside the world’s best golfers following a standout tied fourth finish at The Open Championship on Sunday. In doing so, he took a giant step towards his dream of earning a PGA Tour card.

Haotong Li tees off on the first hole during the final round of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Ireland on July 20. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

China’s Haotong Li proved he truly belonged to be alongside the world’s best golfers following a standout tied fourth finish at The Open Championship on Sunday. In doing so, he secured a timely return to the Masters Tournament next April and took another giant step towards his dream of earning a PGA Tour card.

The mercurial Li produced two clutch birdies in his closing four holes at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland and signed off with a closing 1-under 70 to finish six shots back of playing partner and champion, Scottie Scheffler. The American World No. 1 captured his first Claret Jug by four strokes on 17-under, extending a run of dominance reminiscent of Tiger Woods at his peak.

“It's pretty good. Like I said, I didn't expect anything like this. But I'm super happy to finish top 4 and get in the Masters again,” said the 29-year-old Li, whose last appearance at Augusta National was in 2019.

Li became the first player from mainland China to lead or co-lead after the opening round of The Open and the first to feature in the final pairing on Sunday. He remained in contention throughout the week by delivering some of his best golf — a continuation of the form that earned him a fourth DP World Tour title earlier this year in Qatar.

His glorious run marked his second top-5 finish at The Open — Li came in solo third in his debut at Royal Birkdale in 2017 — and pushed him to third place in the Race to Dubai rankings which the top-10, not otherwise exempt, will earn PGA Tour cards for 2026.

A wayward driver which saw him miss over half the fairways at Royal Portrush left him with an uphill battle on Sunday. Following a double bogey on 14, Li responded with a 16-foot birdie on the next hole before blasting a sublime bunker shot to within two feet for his sixth and final birdie of the day to finish the week on 11-under alongside former U.S. Open champions Wyndham Clark and Matt Fitzpatrick.

“I saw the leaderboard on the last three holes, and I know I need a couple more birdies to kind of jump up and to secure my PGA Tour card. I'm sure I'm really close there as well,” he said.

“Off the tee it's just been quite off, and kind of lost five shots straight away because of the driver, and I think need to figure that out. Iron play was quite nice. It was actually super calm and he's (Scheffler) such a lovely guy to play with.”

Haotong Li reacts to his shot on the tenth hole during the final round of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Ireland on July 20. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Li burst onto the global scene more than a decade ago with multiple wins on the DP World Tour, including a memorable head-to-head triumph over Rory McIlroy in Dubai. However, his journey has been punctuated by dips in form that he contemplated walking away from the sport.

He arrived at Royal Portrush following a missed cut at the Genesis Scottish Open and admitted his game was far from ideal. “The last couple weeks, I felt really, really bad, honest. I came in this week, I hardly get on the course to play because I felt like so many people, course being so packed, and I just hit kind of a few balls on the range, wasn't comfortable. Even our Thursday, Friday morning session wasn't,” he said.

Overcoming the “swing yips” that plagued him just two years ago, Li now feels rejuvenated. “Especially from two years ago, couldn't even pull the trigger until now. It's a massive step for me. I've been playing on the DP World Tour and being able to experience different kind of courses has helped my game a lot.”

A return to the Masters next year has Li buzzing with anticipation. He fondly remembers his last outing six years ago where he played alongside Tiger Woods and Jon Rahm in the opening two rounds at Augusta National. Woods triumphed that week for his 15th major victory.

“It's like a dream come true to play with Tiger, especially during the Masters,” said Li, who finished T32/2018 and T43/2019 in his two appearances at the Masters.

Haotong Li (right) tees off in front of Scottie Scheffler on the seventh hole during the final round of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Ireland on July 20. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Now ranked 77th in the Official World Golf Ranking , the Chinese star’s lifelong goal is to compete full time on the PGA Tour which seems firmly within reach. He relished his final day pairing with Scheffler and enjoyed light-hearted moments with the likeable American superstar, who is now a four-time major champion.

“We did a joke about each other a little bit and just so nice to play with him. I just said, is there any time I can practice with you when I go to the PGA Tour, and he said yes. But I said, when I text you, you better reply to me, and he goes, "Haotong Who?" That was actually funny. Just a lovely guy to play with, and I enjoyed it,” said Li.

BY CHUAH CHOO CHIANG [kjdsports@joongang.co.kr]