Doha win has Li dreaming big again

China's Li Haotong has several messages weaved onto his driver head cover that keeps him focused and motivated.

The one that stands out — "Dream Big".

The 29-year-old Li is now starting to dream big again after claiming a career fourth DP World Tour title, following an emotional triumph at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters on Sunday, which he hopes will help form the building blocks needed to finally put his career on the right path.

Li, who is the only Chinese mainland golfer to compete in the Presidents Cup after qualifying for the International Team in 2019 at Royal Melbourne, holed a winning birdie putt from 15 feet on the 72nd hole at Doha Golf Club, before breaking into a tearful celebration with his caddie.

The one-shot win marked a fourth title on the European tour for the Chinese golfer, who, prior to the start of the day's play was ranked No 300.

His winning putt not only denied Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark a playoff, it also fired Li nearly 150 places up the rankings, landing him at No 154.

Li, the overnight leader, shot 3-under 69 in the final round to finish on 16-under par for the week, while Neergaard-Petersen posted 65. The Dane was alone in second place, two shots clear of Brandon Robinson Thompson (70).

"I never thought I could come back from this position," said Li, whose last win was in June 2022 at the BMW International Open. "This morning, I was really stressed."

He became the second successive Asian golfer to win in Qatar, and now hopes to emulate his predecessor, Rikuya Hoshino of Japan, by earning a priceless PGA Tour card via the DP World Tour Top-10.Hoshino was among 10 players from the DP World Tour to secure playing rights on the PGA Tour at the end of last season.