Haotong Li

Li started out caddying for his father, a golf fanatic who owned a car dealership in Hunan, China. Li's father said, "If one day you take me down, I'll quit and you can play." Li then noted, "One-and-a-half years later, I beat him and he quit." Li's parents now travel the world with him as he splits his time between the European and PGA Tours. According to the Wall Street Journal, Li's mother became an Internet sensation in June of 2017 when she waded into a water hazard at the French Open to retrieve a putter her son had thrown into it in frustration. Only after she was nearly waist-deep in a pond did she realize Li had snapped the putter in half before he tossed it. He is also known for having lots of confidence. Over the years he has carried a wedge stamped with the slogan "HAOTONG IS THE MOST HANDSOME MAN IN CHINA."
Li turned professional in 2011 and played his early professional career on the OneAsia Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia. He also competed in a few European Tour events. Li qualified for the new PGA Tour China in 2014, where he won three times, led the tour's Order of Merit to earn full Korn Ferry Tour status, and was the first Chinese member of the Korn Ferry Tour. He finished 11th in his first Korn Ferry Tour event, the Panama Claro Championship. He maintained his 2016 Korn Ferry Tour card by finishing 49th on the money list.
2015 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 23; In Money - 16; Top-10 Finishes - 1; Scoring Average - 70.40 (Rank 71st); Money - $101,952 (Rank 49th); Finals Money - $5,010 (102nd); Priority Rank (112th); Best Finish - T-6th, Price Cutter Charity.
Came close to his European Tour breakthrough in 2015 at the Shenzhen International before earning full playing status in 2016 by becoming the second successive winner of his national Open.
2016 Notes: Played on the European Tour full-time. In 18 events, won the Volvo China Open and finished 2nd at the Turkish Airlines Open. Ranked 23rd in the Race to Dubai with euros$1,358,868. Only played in five events on the Korn Ferry Tour where his best finish was T-35th at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. Represented China at the Olympics, finishing T-50th.
2017 Notes: Played mostly on the European Tour. Finished T-5th at the Maybank Championship, 3rd at the Rocco Forte Open, and T-7th at the French Open. Playing at the British Open, only his second major championship (he finished 68th at 2017 U.S. Open), Li shot a final-round 63 and finished 3rd. Because he completed his round while the leaders were making the turn, Li stayed for a possible playoff, which ultimately was not needed when Jordan Spieth played his final five holes in five-under-par. Had one more top-10 result, 4th place at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. In 23 European Tour starts, Li finished 17th in the Race to Dubai and earned euros$1,665,899.
2018 Notes: Played 26 European Tour events, making 22 cuts with five top-10 finishes. Ranked 9th in the Race to Dubai. Claimed the biggest victory of his career at the 2018 Omega Dubai Desert Classic, overcoming Rory McIlroy in the third round, then held on to win his second European Tour title. That victory made him the first male Chinese golfer to break into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. In his Master's debut, he became the first professional from China to make the cut at the event, finishing T-32nd. Was T-5th at the Alfred Dunhill Links, T-9th at the Sky Sports British Masters, then lost to Justin Rose with a three-putt bogey on the first playoff hole at the Turkish Airlines Open. The next week, he was T-5th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
2019 Notes: Played in 21 European Tour events making 16 cuts with three top-ten finishes. Was 29th in the Race to Dubai. Was runner-up at the inaugural Saudi International, two shots behind winner Dustin Johnson. Advanced out of group play at the WGC-Dell Match Play, but lost in the Round of 16 to eventual champion Kevin Kisner, 6 and 5. Was 4th at the Volvo China Open, shot 66-66 on the weekend. Ended his European Tour season with a 43rd place finish at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. In his last event of the year, was 2nd at the China Tour Championship, losing a playoff to Suteepat Prateeptienchai. After Dubai, he fired his long-time caddie and showed up to play in the Presidents Cup with his physio on the bag and things didn't work out as he was out of form. Ernie Els didn't play him the first two days and including his loss in Saturday foursomes match along with losing his singles match to Dustin Johnson 4&3 had a 0-2 record in his debut in the Presidents Cup
2020 Notes: Played in 17 European Tour events making nine cuts with one top-ten finish Was 79th in the Race to Dubai with earnings of euro363,146. His best finish was T-8th at the Handa Wales Open.
2021 Notes: Played in 16 European Tour events but only made two cuts. For the last three years, since the 2018 PGA Championship Haotong has been bothered with a wrist injury, that along with COVID-19 has put a toll on him. His first cut made came at the Alfred Dunhill Links and he finished T-14th. Ended his season finishing 2nd at the Volvo China Open a shot back of winner Zhang Jim.
2022 Notes: A healthy Li has played better, and was T-3rd at the Ras al Khaimah Championship. He shot a final-round 63 to finish seven shots back of winner Nicolai Hojgaard. Shot 64-67 over the weekend to finish 6th at the ISPS Handa Championship in Spain five shots back of winner Pablo Larrazaabal. At the BMW International shot 70 in the final round and found himself tied with Thomas Pieters. On the first hole of the playoff, Li made a 40-foot birdie putt and when Pieters missed from ten feet claimed his first DP World title in four years. With the win he was able to finish high enough in the DP World Tour rankings to claim the last of five spots for the 2022 Open Championship.