Who is Haotong Li? Meet Chinese golfer at the top of the British Open leaderboard
Li was once a rising star in majors and on the DP World Tour, but he's since plateaued a bit in both areas. Still, despite being a professional for over a decade, the Chinese golfer still has not yet hit his prime as a golfer and with a long career ahead of him.
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The Open Championship is the one major where Li has both the most experience and his best major finish, so it's not a surprise that he played well to begin the event in 2025. Here is a look back at Li's career and history thus far.
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Where is Haotong Li from?
Haotong Li was born in Hunan, China, but he currently resides in the city of Shanghai. Li is one of China's most successful golfers already and has long presented the country's best chance to win a men's major tournament.
Haotong Li age
Li was born on August 3, 1995, so he is 29 years old for the 2025 British Open.
Haotong Li career history
Li turned professional on the OneAsia Tour and the PGA Tour Australasia in 2011, and he saw some success on those tours in the following few years. Li later joined the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour China, but has since settled as a member of the DP World Tour.
Li has four career DP World Tour wins, including one in 2025 at the Qatar Masters. His first win on the DP World Tour came in 2016, when he won the Volvo China Open, becoming the fourth Chinese golfer to win the event.
He also has two wins on the OneAsia Tour and three wins on PGA Tour China, with four of those five wins coming in 2014. Li has eight total victories, as the China Open win came in a joint event with the DP World Tour and the OneAsia Tour.
Recently, Li has struggled, which is why he hasn't participated in a major since 2022. However, the Qatar Masters' victory has helped him get back on track with a strong performance this year overall.
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Haotong Li majors history
Li participated in 13 majors between 2017 and 2022, but hasn't played in any of the major tournaments since. In 2017, Li made his major debut at the U.S. Open, where he finished 68th, and followed that up with his best performance at a major when he finished third at the 2017 Open Championship.
Li played in 10 of the 12 majors from 2017 to 2019, making eight cuts but only finishing top-15 once. Since then, however, Li has played in just three majors, a top-17 finish at the 2020 PGA Championship in which he held a 36-hole lead and two missed cuts at the British Open in 2021 and 2022.
Haotong Li OWGR
Li is currently the 111th-ranked player in the world, according to OWGR, but he has reached as high as 32 in 2018. Li had struggled in recent years, as he hasn't been below 300 since 2022, but a strong 2025 campaign has helped him jump back into the 100s.
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