China's Li Haotong proved he truly belongs 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 at Augusta National 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, signing 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 four and get in the Masters again," said the 29-year-old Li, whose last appearance at Augusta was in 2019. Li became the first player from the Chinese mainland 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-five 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, through which the top-10, not otherwise exempt, will earn PGA Tour cards for 2026.