A 10-under 61 usually lifts a golfer’s mood. Chinese pro Haotong Li, who carries a wedge engraved with “King of China,” shot a 61 on Saturday at the Biltmore Championship in Asheville and moved inside the top 10. It was his career-best round. Yet his mind stayed on something more than a trophy.
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As the PGA Tour’s fall season began this week, Li used his post-round media interaction to explain what he wants from the fall series of events: “I just try to survive. This is my first year in a full category over here, and I just want to keep my card and do something solid. And then hopefully I can play more golf in America.”
A candid answer? Certainly, but it makes sense once you look at the standings. Only the top 100 in the FedExCup standings after November’s RSM Classic will retain full status for 2027. Li, however, arrived at Biltmore ranked 133rd, according to Golf Channel. If he finishes outside the cutoff, that’ll mean conditional status or possible demotion. The eight fall events can now decide his fate for the season.
Notably, Li has flagged the trouble months earlier. At the RBC Canadian Open in June, after a second-round 64 lifted him to a tie for second, he spoke openly about his run of missed cuts previously.
“I’ve been struggling for two months,” he had said.
Li also said his tee shots looked no different on good days, but he struggled over the final five or six holes on Fridays, making it a recurring issue. He even consulted his psychologist, who told him to dismiss the negative voices by labeling them as “bad Haotong.”
PGATour.com added that Li did not see the problem as purely physical and that adjusting to life in a new country added mental pressure. Despite that, Li then shot 79 in round three and finished T60.
His physical condition showed strain on his results too. He missed the cut in 13 of his last 17 starts, according to the PGA Tour, and finished outside the top 70 that qualified for FedEx Cup playoffs. Moreover, he also struggled to close out a strong position in a major.
He sat tied for seventh through 54 holes at the Masters despite food poisoning, then shot 80 on Sunday to finish T38. He also missed the cut at the Open at Royal Birkdale.
That being said, Haotong Li has tried to resurge his game. He played the last four weeks on the DP World Tour, finishing in the top 20 in his last two starts, including a T14 at the Irish Open. If this can turn around, his PGA Tour card’s survival remains to be seen.
Li Reached the PGA Tour After a Breakout 2025 Season
While the 2026 season has been tough, Haotong Li has climbed back from worse before. For instance, he nearly retired in 2021 after missing 13 of 16 cuts on the DP World Tour. But by February 2025, he had won the Qatar Masters, finished that season with eight top-10 finishes, and ranked fourth on the DP World Tour in strokes gained: Approach.
His last season also included some of his best performances, including the Open. Li shared the first-round lead at Royal Portrush and played the final round beside Scottie Scheffler, finishing tied for fourth. That result earned him a Masters invite, and his Race to Dubai finish handed him one of the ten PGA Tour cards.
As for his 2026, it has been a bit wobbly. Regardless of his results, his iron play has not disappeared, and he also ranks 15th on the PGA Tour in greens hit heading into Biltmore. Now, as he returns Sunday for the final round inside the top 10, a strong finish here could give him a chance to retain his PGA Tour card for next season