Will Zalatoris spent his weekend on the greens, but not the one he's used to. Then once I came back, it was pretty easy to keep the competitive juices flowing.. But those battles started long before they were competing for millions on golfs grandest stage. According to Golf Monthly, Sellers has completed her post-graduate studies at the University of Texas and is most likely working as a marketing analyst. Each morning, he ate a full breakfast at 6 a.m. and then waited until late in the evening to have a robust dinner. He also set the individual scoring average of 70.44 at Wake Forest University. Zalatoris finds himself competing with other DFW stars like Spieth and Scheffler on a regular basis now that theyre all PGA Tour stars. The former U.S. Open champion came into the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. A feat that would soon eclipsed by his performance at Augusta a month later, but was at the time a career highlight: First PLAYERS.Surprise messages from family and friends. The shutdown simplified things.. At the time, Zalatoris was leading the FedEx Cup after capturing his first PGA Tour win a week earlier in Memphis. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The 10-foot par putt in regulation was so crucial and the moment so important that Will Zalatoris doesn't remember screaming out when he made it, "What are they gonna say now?". The Plano alum walked down the aisle with his long-term girlfriend, Caitlin Sellers, who has been his best friend. "Considering all those close finishes, it means a lot.". [12], In October 2021, Zalatoris shot his career low round (61) on the PGA Tour at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. Being in contention as much as I was last year, theres just no better feeling than it, Zalatoris said Tuesday. But as Nelson week grew closer, those feelings the teenager were experiencing werent butterflies they were pains from an inflamed appendix. Straka followed with a shot that also hit the bank, took one bounce off the rocks and went into the water. Born in San Francisco, California, Will Zalatoris was introduced to the game early on playing with his parents at California Golf Club. The comparisons got so mainstream that even Adam Sandler, star of Happy Gilmore, tweeted Zalatoris during the 2021 Masters and joined the fray. U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and Presidents Cup star Tom Kim are among the other first-time TOUR winners who are scheduled to appear at Kapalua. He had a 25-foot putt for the win on the 18th on the first playoff hole and had to make a 7-footer the second time around to stay in the game. This is the best of the best, Zalatoris said Tuesday ahead of the tournament. As the news broke on the internet, fans jumped into the comments section of his post to congratulate the newlywed star. Ive learned a lot about my body, probably more than I think I ever wanted to, Zalatoris said Tuesday afternoon in Hawaii. Szokol opens with 64, up 3 shots in Singapore, More PGA Tour changes: No cuts, smaller fields, Rahm sought Tiger's advice on staying No. A 24-year-old American golfer who isn't even on the PGA Tour yet won $1.2 million at the Masters and is reveling in his newfound fame. Wills strong play continued and he finished in 2nd place at the 2021 Masters Tournament, one stroke behind the champion. He got married in December but also spent much of the time rehabbing. The two have been together for more than four years now after meeting at Wake Forest college in late 2018. Zalatoris made the most of a four-month rehabilitation process after suffering two herniated discs in his back, but its a new year and hes ready to return to competition at this weeks Sentry Tournament of Champions. He was named the 2017 ACC Player of the Year and 2017 First-Team All-American. And after all of those adjustments, Zalatoris and his teams fears of making changes to a swing that has already racked up six major top-10s in three years were unwarranted. Find more golf coverage from The Dallas Morning News here. Heading into the PGA Championship, Zalatoris had four top-10 finishes in his first seven career major championship appearances. William Patrick Zalatoris (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional golfer. [2] He attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina, and was named ACC Player of the Year in 2017. I think Ive just been so close so many times, so I think, if anything, after having the time off, its kind of hard to remind myself of all the second places.. While Zalatoris isnt the biggest guy on tour hes listed by the PGA Tour at 6-foot-2, 175 lbs he said hes still largely avoided back injuries throughout his career, save one instance in July 2021. 8 in the standings and is assured his first trip to the Tour Championship at East Lake. He entered Sunday in a logjam for second at 7 under, four shots back of Matsuyama. Yes, as a 14-year-old kid. So thats why my speed is the same actually with the shorter driver. PGA TOUR players on Scottie Schefflers breakout season. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. Having finished runner-up in three majors in his career, it seemed to be only a matter of time before Zalatoris finally collected a title. Will Zalatoris. Zalatoris won on the third playoff hole. But that showing not only made him a household name to a number of previously unaware golf fans, it also vaulted Zalatoris to No. Zalatoris was born in San Francisco, California, but his family moved to the Dallas, Texas, area . 1, a loaded LPGA field and more to watch in golf this week, Here's everything you missed this week in professional golf, Jin Young Ko up by 2 in Singapore title defense, Quigley fires 65 for early lead in PGA Champions, Kitayama handles windy Bay Hill as Rahm falters, Tiger not part of field for next week's Players, Young stretches lead to 4 in Puerto Rico Open, Rahm stays hot, finishes strong for Bay Hill lead, Rookie Young captures Puerto Rico lead with 63. The bride completed her look with elegant makeup and open hair flowing down her shoulders. For the first time in 138 days, Will Zalatoris will play a PGA Tour event this week at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Hes also changed his setup to help fix some of his motor pattern issues that may have caused his injury. Spieth was three grades ahead of them growing up, but the three found themselves clashing on the junior circuit quite often. He also has three runner-up finishes in major championships . Weve looked at everything I was doing, to make sure I was doing all the right things and we were checking all the boxes, and it was strictly a motor pattern thing, said Zalatoris, who has opted to temporarily decrease his driver length (to approximately 44.75 inches, down from 46 inches) as he works through the setup change. Zalatoris will collect $500,000 for 30th, or last place . Kevin Prise is an associate editor for PGATOUR.COM. The two played golf nearly every day during the pandemic at Bent Tree or Carrolltons Maridoe Golf Club, formerly Columbian Country Club. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. Will and Caitlin stood on stairs decorated with green leaves and flowers, making an arc above their heads on an olive-colored wall. Will Zalatoris withdrew from The 149th Open Championship on Friday, citing a back injury suffered while hitting out of heavy rough late in his opening-round 69. Tyler Lauletta. That win moved him to the top of the Korn Ferry Tour points list and he qualified for the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, where he finished 6th place. They examined the pressures of his swing, concluding a motor pattern was the root cause of the strain on his back. Spoiler alert: It's yet to be announced, but the course is almost certain to be added as the 2041 Ryder Cup site. Zalatoris shot 1-under 69 on Thursday, but on the 15th hole he drove into the thick rough. Will Zalatoris found the end of Netflix.. Will Zalatoris walks back to the crowd with his arm around his fianc after winning his first PGA tournament during the last day of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn., Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022. A bad back is keeping the 26-year-old from competing in the Presidents Cup after qualifying for a spot at Quail Hollow. After getting initial golf instruction from former U.S. Open champion Ken Venturi as a 6 year old in San Francisco, most of Zalatoris learning and development came in Texas after he moved to Texas as a pre-teen. 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational: How to watch, TV schedule, streaming, tee times, Meet the new GOLF Top 100 Teachers of America, 7 interesting gear finds inside Tommy Fleetwoods golf bag | Bag Spy, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Zalatoris was born in San Francisco, California. Will Zalatoris has been struggling with a back injury since August. He has competed primarily on the PGA Tour, where he has won once, at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship . 1 in the world stays with Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who missed the cut and spent Sunday playing Pine Valley for the first time. Will and Caitlin have been dating each other since they met in 2018 at Wake Forest College. Amateur nearly a decade earlier. Zalatoris, 26, hasnt teed it up since withdrawing during the third round of the BMW Championship in August with what turned out to be two herniated discs in his back. At the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship, Will Zalatoris claimed his first victory on the PGA TOUR in dramatic fashion with rounds of 71-63-65-66 to finish at. Caitlin and Will got married in an intimate ceremony earlier this week. [4] He was also a member of the U.S. Walker Cup team in 2017, teammates with future PGA Tour winners Collin Morikawa and Cameron Champ. Among his eight top-10s are three runners-up, including at two majorsthe PGA Championship and U.S . Meanwhile, No. 7 World Ranking. Luckily for Zalatoris, Nelson organizers honored the exemption the following year and he made the start as a 19 year old. The Players Championship will be contested next week without its biggest draw. He shared the good news via his official Instagram page on December 13. Special moment for @WillZalatoris.pic.twitter.com/4ks8CzchhY. He also fell short of winning the 2022 U.S. Open, with Matthew Fitzpatrick making Zalatoris a major runner-up for the third time. Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. "I am beyond disappointed," he . ), PGA Tour makes big changes to 2024 designated events, including smaller fields and no cuts, 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational tee times: Round 1 groupings for Thursday. Zalatoris took a while to collect his first PGA Tour win, but his rookie year was one for the ages. Will and family moved to Dallas, Texas when he was 9 years old and he began working hard on his game while competing in top junior tournaments. ET in the final group with Mito Pereira. Will and family moved to Dallas, Texas when he was 9 years old and he began working hard on his game while competing in top junior tournaments. It ended up being the second PGA Tour event of his career he earned a spot in the field of the 2015 Northern Trust by winning a collegiate showcase. He tends to push off his right side later than most; with his level of side bend, his right hip is high with his spine tilted back. Will picked up his first professional victory in 2020 at the TPC Colorado Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. Much like fellow 25-year-old DFW golf star Scottie Scheffler (who was born in New Jersey but moved to the Metroplex when he was in elementary school), Zalatoris was born outside of the Lone Star State but moved to Texas as a youngster and thrived in the local golf scene. At the end of the 2021 season, Zalatoris was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year an accomplishment nobody would have expected at the start of the year, given the fact that Zalatoris didnt even had a PGA Tour card. Like Spieth and Scheffler, Zalatoris received the opportunity to play in the AT&T Byron Nelson as a teenager through a sponsors exemption. Junior Amateur title in 2014. Which is kind of a good thing and a bad thing, because when I was hitting the ball the way that I was, its hard to want to change anything, but at the same time I actually saw some benefits. [11] He followed it up with a T8 at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, and secured Special Temporary Member status after the Bermuda Championship in early November. "It's hard to say, 'About time,' when it's your second year on tour, but it's about time," Zalatoris said. 1, LIV Golf's debut on The CW scores low ratings, How to watch PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational on ESPN+, Kirk wins Honda in playoff; 1st title since 2015, Howell (63) wins in Mexico for 1st title in LIV, Nicklaus: '24 schedule likely to aid Honda field, Siem ends 8-year wait for another Euro Tour title, Vu overcomes 6-shot deficit to win 1st LPGA title, FedEx Cup leader Zalatoris WDs with back injury, Who can win the FedEx Cup? Im trying to get more centered over it and work more around my right side, so more a turn as opposed to a lateral shift. Find classes that best matches your needs. 27 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Zalatoris. Zalatoris notches first PGA Tour victory in playoff, A battle for No. Ill be better this time. He has displayed a good feel for the golf course (particularly the greens) and opened with rounds of 70-68. [5] He left school after his junior year to turn professional. At the FedEx St. Jude Championships, Zalatoris entered a three-hole playoff vs. Sepp Straka that could have very well swung Strakas way had some balls bounced differently. Topics of discussion included how Zalatoris seems to always step it up in majors as well as what its like to play in a group behind Tiger Woods. Spieths first tee shot flared right, but he scrambled to save par. He actually learned the way he generated power could have led to the back issues in the first place. After his first TOUR victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in mid-August, the first of three FedExCup Playoffs events, Zalatoris was forced to withdraw during the third round of the following weeks BMW Championship due to injury. When my right hip gets high and the spine tilts back, youre all of a sudden creating all that stress on your back. pic.twitter.com/qtEj1JyZdL. Before heading off to play collegiately, he won both the Texas State Amateur and the U.S. An MRI revealed that Zalatoris, 26, had two herniated disks. He came close to winning three times in 2022, including two major championships, before finally breaking out for his first victory. He was born in San Francisco, and growing up he spent his formative golf years playing at the outstanding California Golf Club with his Dad. It came up well short of the green, and as it bounced eight times along the stone facade separating dry land from the water, it . [3] In his junior year, Zalatoris was named All-ACC, First-Team GCAA All-American, First-Team Golf week All-American, Nicklaus Award finalist, Hogan Award semifinalist, played in all 12 events and had a scoring average of 70.14, third-best season average in school history. Let us take your yoga routines to the next level with our 365 day challenge and programs schedule. Our crew of Davis Riley, Kevin Dougherty and Tony Romo played money games five days a week for four months. He tried to play through the injury but withdrew on the next hole. British Open champion Cameron Smith could have replaced Scheffler by winning and arrived at the TPC Southwind two shots out of the lead. Will Zalatoris is set to make his first TOUR start since the BMW Championship last August. Sharing the good news, the Texas native posted a slew of glamorous pictures with a caption that said: Earlier this week, he again took to his social media account to share a happy moment from his wedding. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. 8:12 AM on May 21, 2022 CDT Updated at 11:37 PM on Aug 14, 2022 CDT. A month before his Masters breakthrough in 2021, Zalatoris was surprised by Romo with a congratulatory message for qualifying for The PLAYERS Championship. 34 and has a good chance of being part of the top 30 who go to the Tour Championship to play for that $18 million first prize. He hasnt been in a film in nearly 20 years, according to his imdb page. But in the name of avoiding future injury, hes working through the proverbial process. The 26-year-old has long displayed an aptitude for quickly bouncing back from injury. He was born and raised in San Francisco, playing at Cal Club, where he hung with a much older crowd and pounded . Not really. Zalatoris had to have an emergency appendectomy. TULSA, Okla. Will Zalatoris is looking to keep the Southern Hills major streak alive. But he took up his teammates offer to come out and hang with the team for a . The Plano alum walked down the aisle with his long-term girlfriend, Caitlin Sellers, who has been his best friend since his college days. Zalatoris, 26, was injured on the third hole of the third round of the BMW Championship on Saturday at Wilmington Country Club in Delaware. Mark Wahlberg pours tequila for fans at Dallas restaurant during thunderstorm, 12 Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants that have closed in 2023, Dallas Cowboys focused on adding another dynamic offensive weapon, UIL boys basketball playoffs (4A/3A): Faith Family stays composed; Carter finds rhythm. The highlights of the season came when he finished 2nd at both the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open, then capped off an exceptional season with his first PGA Tour victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Zalatoris, the ninth-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking, also won't compete in next month's Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina, his agent announced on Twitter. Zalatoris may be an only child, but he still has a big brother. Thats the title he has reserved for former Cowboys QB Tony Romo. The newly married couple posed for the camera, standing side by side with Will Zalatoris' hands resting on his wife's waist. When tournaments started up, I was ready to go. Zalatoris took that attitude all the way to the final group on Saturday. Will had an outstanding collegiate and amateur career, which included representing the United States on the 2017 Walker Cup team at Los Angeles Country Club and winning 4 collegiate titles. Will Zalatoris watches his putt on the 9th. Id go to the course, carrying my bag, playing with my buddies, just trying to beat the crap out of each other. Impact Zalatoris played in his first tournament since tweaking his back at the BMW Championship in August. Thats the most recent tournament he completed before injury struck, and its a feeling hes keen to recapture. ATLANTA -- Will Zalatoris, who picked up his first PGA Tour victory two weeks ago, has withdrawn from the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club because of two herniated disks in his back. Junior Amateur champion announced his engagement to girlfriend Caitlin Sellers, also a Demon Deacon, with a series of pictures on Instagram back in April of 2021. Will Zalatoris, the 25 year old who three second place finishes in majors but hadn't won a PGA Tour event yet in his young career, punched his way into the playoff by sinking a must-make, 10-foot. A huge break for Zalatoris? He went to the drop zone, hit to 7 feet and let his raised hands drop over his head in relief when he made the winning putt. Fifty-four holes, no cut, that's an easy life" -- Padraig Harrington. Will Zalatoris hilariously explained why Phil Mickelson could play Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore remake. The train of the wedding dress was spread over the stairs while she was holding white flowers in her hand. Oosthuizen is teetering on the brink of missing three majors in 2023. Zalatoris was born in 1996 on the 16th of August. Zalatoris was voted PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for the 202021 season. He previously worked for the DMN sports department from 2010-2022, where he served as SportsDay's lead digital strategist and oversaw coverage of college sports, HS sports, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, soccer and golf. Country Club when Zalatoris was being worked on by a PGA Tour physiotherapist on the 5th tee before ultimately deciding the pain was too much. Straka won his first PGA TOUR title earlier in the year at The Honda Classic. So just keep doing what were doing and let the next win get in the way.. The first event of 2023 also could be Will Zalatoris first start since August. "This course is where every shot you hit you're on the edge of your seat," Straka said. Zalatoris wanted to make swing changes to prevent an injury like this one from happening again. Zalatoris and Scheffler are separated by only a couple months in age, so the two played together quite frequently as juniors. If that doesnt sound like a household name to you, dont worry. However, the Sentry Tournament of Champions recently announced that Zalatoris is expected in the field for the event in early January.