AUGUSTA, Ga. — It has been quite a week for Haotong Li. The 30-year-old Chinese pro who lives in Shanghai got to meet Kevin Hart during the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday, calling it “the best day of my life so far.” But Thursday might have been one of the worst.
The culprit, he said: the lobster roll and poke bowl he ate for lunch.
“Went to the toilet last night a lot of times,” he said Friday. “This morning when I got to the golf course [I was] still feeling really bad and kind of, like, [living] in the toilet.”
Li said he was going to try to play and withdraw if necessary. The outlook was bleak. “No energy,” he said. “Fuzzy, want to throw up.”
Michael Jordan had his “Flu Game” in 1997. Haotong Li had the second round of the 2026 Masters. After shooting a four-under 32 on the second nine, he found himself in the top 10. Now, after another 3-under 69 on Saturday, he’s not out of this thing. Li heads into Sunday four shots off the lead, tied for 7th and paired with two-time champion Scottie Scheffler.
“Still battling,” Li said Saturday. Not the elements or the course. His stomach.
Without the digestive difficulties, Li’s story of resilience would still be remarkable. He had a breakout performance at The Open in 2017, when he came out of nowhere to shoot a blistering 63 on Sunday and finished third behind Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar. But it hasn’t been smooth sailing since then. Li hadn’t played at Augusta National since 2019, when he played the first two rounds with Tiger Woods. And he had to earn his PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 10 on the DP World Tour last year. He didn’t have much momentum as he made his return to Augusta; he had missed his previous four cuts entering this week.
But Li plays well on the biggest stages — at the PGA Championship in 2020, he led after 36 holes — and his outsized personality has added fun to one of the most buttoned-up environments in sports.
In February, Li told the “Smylie Show” that he learned English from watching Kevin Hart. He said he hoped to one day meet him, without any idea he would run into him Wednesday at the Par 3 Contest. Naturally, Li didn’t hold back at the event.
“You’re my hero!” he yelled, then exclaimed, “Let’s f—ing go!” on live television. He took photos and videos and cheered on his famously supportive mom — at a professional tournament, she once rolled up her shorts and waded into a pond to get a putter he had angrily tossed in there — as she hit shots in the Par 3 Contest.
Li might have questionable taste in regional dining selections, but he has never lacked enthusiasm. Or candor, apparently. The combination makes him one of the most quotable players in golf, and a favorite of other players on Tour for entertainment during a round.
“He did not shut up for 18 holes,” Cameron Smith said about a practice round the two shared in 2019 at the Presidents Cup. “He was quite impressive. I’ve never heard that many words come out of one mouth in four hours.”
Li’s Sunday pairing will reunite him with Scheffler, his playing partner in the final round of last July’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush, where Scheffler won and Li finished fourth. Reporters noticed Li and Scheffler both laughing during their round, asking Li what it was all about.
“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, according to Golf.com. “But I said, when I text you, you better reply to me.”
Scheffler replied, “Haotong who?” Li recalled, laughing and calling Scheffler “just a lovely guy to play with.”
Li nearly retired from golf in 2021 after missing 13 of 16 cuts on the DP World Tour. After winning a tournament in Dubai over none other than Masters co-leader Rory McIlroy in 2018, he went over four years without carding a win. In one tournament in 2021, he shot an 84 in a round that included an eagle and a 12.
“His good is very good, and his bad is very bad,” his caddy, Jady de Beer, told Golf.com during The Open last year. But at The Open, and again here, the very good seems to overcome everything else.
“I just [feel] super calm every time [I] play in majors,” he said Thursday.
During Saturday’s round, several fans from China followed his every move. Zheng Gang Shen of Hainan, China, said he has gone to watch Li a few times in their native country. He said other Chinese golfers look up to him, and that he’s raised the quality of other pros there as an inspiration, and he’s proud of how popular Li’s become.
“He’s getting better and better and better,” Shen said. “It’s a big comeback. He has a very good personality. All the American golfers love him, just like us.”
Li said after Friday’s and Saturday’s rounds that he was surprised by how well he played. He seems to manage to raise his game at the Masters. He’s made the cut in all four of his appearances here. In his last round here in 2019, he fired a 68 and finished strong with six birdies on the second nine.
He said Friday that despite his sickness, Augusta seemed to be the cure.
“Definitely,” he said. “Major makes me feel good.”
Li has had a star turn this week and will be near the top of the leaderboard at the start of Sunday’s final round of the Masters with an outside chance to pull off a shocking win. But he said Saturday that competitive golf hasn’t been the best part of his week.
“I think the most important is I so enjoy Wednesday with my mom,” he said. ” Obviously, met Kevin Hart in person. [Wednesday was more important] than a golf tournament.”
