On Saturday, after earning a spot in the final pairing alongside World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, World No. 111 Haotong Li said he was “quite looking forward” to, essentially, playing for second. It was a brutally honest assessment of his chances of winning, but also a smart way of not putting any undue pressure on himself and allowing himself to go out and enjoy a huge career accomplishment.
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And enjoy it, he did. Despite some erratic off-the-tee play, the 29-year-old from China still gutted out a one-under 70, securing a T-4 finish. His closing stretch was particularly clutch, Li making birdies on 15 and 17, plus pars on 16 and 18, to jump inside of that top four. That’s hugely important because it earns him an invitation into next year’s Masters Tournament. It also jumps him to third in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings, which matters greatly as the top 10 on that list not otherwise eligible can earn PGA Tour cards.
T-4s don’t get more productive than that.
“I saw the leaderboard on the last three holes, and I know I need actually a couple more birdies,” Li said. “Overall it’s just a very good week for me.”
And yet, those two achievements pale in comparison to another thing Li secured on Sunday – Scheffler’s phone number. He has just one request for his new buddy.
“I just said, is there any time I can practice with you when I go to the PGA Tour, and he said yes,” Li said afterward. “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. I enjoyed.”
Considering they’ll both be at Augusta next year, and they’ll both be on tour, we like Li’s chances of getting in a practice round with the four-time major winner. Maybe just give that text a few weeks, though. We’re guessing Scheffler is going to be sifting through quite a few congratulatory ones in the coming days.
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Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
