We can be sure: none of the 2025 Major winners will celebrate their victory on the green with the overflowing happiness and expressiveness that Haotong Li (-16) has displayed in his celebration for the triumph at the Qatar Masters, right after sinking a decisive birdie putt on the 18th at the Doha Golf Club, from about five metres, which spared him from playing a cumbersome and always unsettling playoff, in this case against Rasmus Neergaard (-15). Just a few minutes earlier, the Dane had signed the best score of the day and the week, a 65 that came very close to securing his first victory on the European Tour.
Today was Haotong Li’s day, marking his fourth victory on the DP World Tour. The same utterly unique player who nearly three years ago won the BMW International on the same tour, but who less than two years ago hit rock bottom in the rankings and in his career, sunk into the depths of the World Number 500. Perhaps that’s why he shed so many tears in his celebration…
Will Li be able to somewhat organise his game, give it more consistency, and feel like someone destined for even higher goals? If so, and considering he’s only 29 years old, he should be considered even in the big events. Because he has what it takes: great talent, power, daring, courage, determination, and grit. A lot of grit. From here on, only the Chinese gods will know what goes through that perpetually effervescent mind…
He showcased his talent today, especially in the first third of the round, up to the 7th hole. On the 1st hole, he left the ball hanging for an eagle, and generally, the delicate windy playing conditions seemed to affect him little or not at all. He rose above everything and everyone, producing excellent shots here and there, from the fairway or the rough.
Then, after missing the tee shot on the 8th, a par 3, everything got more complicated for him. He would drop up to three bogeys from that point to the end, the same number he had signed in the previous 61 holes…
It was time to combine that talent, when possible, with grit and courage: you have to see with what determination he made all those short putts to save pars, which on these greens and with the wind dancing can become a torture. He didn’t miss a single one. Good fortune also played a part, at times blatantly, because in reality, Li wasn’t going to hit a single fairway from the 10th hole onwards. And it wasn’t just that he missed them, some of the escapes were dizzying (holes 12 and 14, for example, and also the 15th), but the ball always appeared playable and with a clear line ahead… As if that wasn’t enough, his playing partner, Brandon Robinson Thompson (-13), ‘invented’ a bogey on the 12th hole while putting for birdie from four metres, when the course of events suggested the Englishman was already tightening the screws on the leader; and later, Neergard also missed a very short putt to save par on the 17th, with a 320-degree lip-out included…
The Dane has certainly shown that his trajectory is determined and on the rise. Since bursting onto the elite golf scene, not too much time passes without him being seen up there. And Luke Donald’s boys are right to keep an eye on him. It’s still to be confirmed whether this upcoming Ryder, the one at Bethpage, is still too soon for him, it’s true, but some certainties are forming when, with the tournament on the line, you see him hit irons like the one today on the 15th, from 195 metres, to leave himself almost a given birdie, or like the second shot on the 18th, a 4-iron from about 214 metres, to leave himself an eagle chance that, by the way, almost went in.
Ángel Ayora (-6) and Iván Cantero (-6) were finally the best Spaniards, with rounds of 71 and 69 strokes, respectively, which brought them to the brink of the top ten, although never entering the fight for victory or the podium.
