Haotong Li Roars Into RBC Canadian Open Contention

Haotong Li needed a spark. On Friday at the RBC Canadian Open, he didn’t just find one, he lit up TPC Toronto.

Li backed up an opening 67 with a 6-under 64 in Round 2, climbing to 9-under and into a tie for second heading into the weekend.

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For a player searching for confidence during his first full season with a PGA TOUR card, this was more than a low number. It was a badly needed reminder that his game still travels.

And he knew it.

“It’s just very tough out there,” Li said. “I’m very pleased at how I played today.”

The 30-year-old from China has been stuck in a frustrating stretch, where the golf felt better than the scorecards showed.

He entered the week ranked No. 90 in the Official World Golf Ranking, but recent Fridays had been rough. Missed cuts piled up. Momentum disappeared. Doubt started getting louder.

“I’ve been struggling for two months,” Li said. “I missed like one or two cuts in a row for like probably eight events already. And I felt like I played quite decent.”

That’s the cruel part of golf. Sometimes the swing is good, the work is there and the leaderboard still doesn’t care.

Friday finally gave Li something back.

He made eight birdies in the second round and produced one of the shots of his tournament at No. 11, where he ripped a 5-iron into the wind and finished pin-high.

That kind of shot doesn’t just save a round. It changes the temperature around a player.

Li also had to adjust on the fly with a new voice on the bag. His regular caddie couldn’t make the trip to Canada because of visa issues, so Geno Bonnalie stepped in.

The fill-in pairing has worked fast, with Li saying Bonnalie saved him on several decisions.

“There’s definitely three or four shots that he saved,” Li said.

The biggest win, though, may be mental. Li has worked with a psychologist to shut down the negative voice that creeps in late in rounds.

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His new message to himself is simple: when “bad Haotong” shows up, send him packing.

It worked. Now Li, a four-time DP World Tour winner still chasing his first PGA TOUR victory, has a real weekend chance in Canada.

After weeks of frustration, he’s back in the fight.

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