AR
When Will Zalatoris putted out for a second-round 76 at the PGA Championship in missing the cut last week, he stiffly reached down to pick his ball out of the hole. He smiled when shaking hands with his competitors, but he clearly was not feeling well. There was a reason for that.
On Monday, Zalatoris, 28, revealed on social media that he underwent back surgery near his home in Dallas on Friday to repair discs he re-herniated after surgery for them in 2022. The one-time PGA Tour winner said in the post that he began feeling discomfort in the spring and it got progressively worse. He had an MRI after the PGA that revealed the herniated discs.
“I’m happy to say I woke up feeling good and excited about my long-term health,” Zalatoris posted. “Time to focus on my recovery and get back after it.” He concluded with, “Looking forward to seeing everyone in the autumn.”
Zalatoris made 11 starts this season and missed only two cuts. But he didn’t contend in tournaments and his best finish was T-12 at The American Express in January.
The back injuries have stunted what looked to be a promising early career. Zalatoris was the tour’s rookie of the year in 2020-21 when he finished solo second in the Masters and posted eight top-10s. The following season, he was runner-up in both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, and broke through with his first win in the 2022 FedEx Cup Playoff opener, the FedEx St. Jude Classic. But Zalatoris had to withdraw midway through the BMW Championship the next week with a back injury. Then, after making seven starts in 2023, he withdrew ahead of the Masters, had back surgery days later and missed the rest of the ’23 season.
Zalatoris had a productive 2024 season of 22 starts that included tying for second in the Genesis Invitational and later finishing T-9 in the Masters.
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Main Image: Orlando Ramirez
