Will Zalatoris, the 25-year-old golfer out of Dallas has finally grabbed his first PGA Tour victory, winning a three-hole playoff vs. Sepp Straka at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He secured membership for the remainder of the season on July 7 after a tie for third at the LECOM Health Challenge, and finished the regular season 60th in points, earning full status for the 2020 season.[8]. Caitlin has changed her last name to Zalatoris on her Instagram account. He . But that showing not only made him a household name to a number of previously unaware golf fans, it also vaulted Zalatoris to No. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Zalatoris entered Augusts BMW Championship in the advantageous No. Already a force in the majors, Zalatoris got that first win out of the way with clutch putts and smart decisions to beat Sepp Straka and capture the first FedEx Cup playoff event. Zalatoris moves into the top 10 in the world for the first time and takes the No. Clark finished at No. Aiming for his first PGA Tour win, Zalatoris might make the 2022 PGA Championship his first title. Zalatoris just missed earning one of the six automatic spots on the U.S. team for the Presidents Cup. He entered Sunday in a logjam for second at 7 under, four shots back of Matsuyama. Stars are everywhere on the leaderboard heading into the weekend at Bay Hill. Zalatoris notches first PGA Tour victory in playoff, A battle for No. But the role most golf fans know van Snellenberg for is the role of Happy Gilmores caddie in the 1996 film Happy Gilmore. For the first time in 138 days, Will Zalatoris will play a PGA Tour event this week at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Zalatoris' first professional victory came in July 2020, when he narrowly won the TPC Colorado Championship by one stroke. It was quite the scene at Wilmington (Del.) Caitlin and Will got married in an intimate ceremony earlier this week. A post shared by Will Zalatoris (@willzalatoris). [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. This is the best of the best, Zalatoris said Tuesday ahead of the tournament. "T" = tied He ranked top-three in both Total Driving and Greens in Regulation on the 2019 and 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour, as well. Suddenly the close-call narrative was put to bed he memorably exclaimed, What are they gonna say now! upon draining a par putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Sepp Straka at TPC Southwind. Also moving into the top 70 were Adam Scott, Andrew Putnam and Wyndham Clark, who had reason to think he had thrown away his chances when he played a four-hole stretch in 4-over par and had to save par on the 18th for a 72. 1 player strokes gained tee to green this past year, or at least approach, to want to go in and say, hey, you need to make some changes. Zalatoris experienced a string of close calls last year - namely six top-six finishes in an eight-event stretch, including runner-up finishes at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open - before his. He got married in December but also spent much of the time rehabbing. Zalatoris sat atop the FedExCup standings after winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship, but he had to withdraw early in the third round of the following weeks BMW Championship. He was named the 2017 ACC Player of the Year and 2017 First-Team All-American. Im more efficient in my golf swing -- so thats why the speed is the same with the shorter driver; its just because of the efficiency now of how I push into a golf ball.. [13], In January 2022, Zalatoris tied for the lead of the Farmers Insurance Open after 72 holes. I feel really good with everything, Zalatoris said. The two played golf nearly every day during the pandemic at Bent Tree or Carrolltons Maridoe Golf Club, formerly Columbian Country Club. Oops! Zalatoris won't be replaced in the 30-man field at East Lake and will receive a $500,000 bonus. He could have been referring to his runner-up finish to Hideki Matsuyama in the Masters last year or the playoff losses at Torrey Pines and at Southern Hills in the PGA Championship or most recently the putt that burned the edge of the cup that kept him from a U.S. Open playoff. 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. During the hiatus, Zalatoris spent time with Greg Rose, a Doctor of Chiropractic at the Titleist Performance Institute, conducting an assessment with the goal of promoting career longevity. The current leader in the FedEx Cup standings. Zalatoris was born in 1996 on the 16th of August. He finished tied with Scottie Scheffler at the U.S. Open behind Matt Fitzpatrick at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. College career [ edit] Zalatoris was born in San Francisco, California. He came shot consistently all weekend, shooting a 69 in each round Thursday- Saturday. And I do it later than a lot of guys, so what that does for someone with a lot of side bend is that gets my right hip high and on my spines tilted back, and so as Dr. Rose said, duh, no wonder I had a back issue.. The first event of 2023 also could be Will Zalatoris first start since August. At the U.S. Open, he aced the par-3 seventh hole during the first round, very nearly replicating it six holes later,[10] and tied for sixth place, at five-over par, alongside world number one Dustin Johnson; it was his first top-10 finish in a major championship. That top finish, along with a number of others, secured him Special Temporary Member status on the PGA Tour which allowed him to accept unlimited sponsor exemptions for the 2020-2021 season. The former U.S. Open champion came into the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 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. During Zalatoris rehab process, his routine might have looked like have a few putts and then maybe need to go grab a few beers with my boys. But hes an unabashed golf addict who will eagerly play four or five events in a row. He is on a lifelong quest to break 80 on a course that exceeds 6,000 yards and to see the Buffalo Bills win a Super Bowl. 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. Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. 27 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He also has three runner-up finishes in major championships. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup, assuring him a reasonable shot at the $18 million prize in two weeks. Then once I came back, it was pretty easy to keep the competitive juices flowing.. Prior to moving to Dallas, he worked at the Detroit Free Press. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images. Its the PGA TOURs first designated event of 2023, with 17 of the top 20 players on the Official World Golf Ranking set to compete at the Plantation Course at Kapalua. Zalatoris will collect $500,000 for 30th, or last place . The former Wake Forest star was in third position in the FedEx Cup playoffs points standings and was slated to start 3 strokes behind leader Scottie Scheffler in his first appearance in the Tour Championship, which begins Thursday. Junior Amateur in 2014. But. Glover closed with a 66 and wound up in a tie for third. 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. 2. 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. Follow Kevin Prise on Twitter. 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. He finished the season ranked #1 in SG: Approach and #1 SG: Tee-to-Green. He has competed primarily on the PGA Tour, where he has won once, at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship . Will Zalatoris. I did a pretty deep dive with Damon, my trainer, with Dr. [Greg] Rose, Dr. Duffy, he said of his team. Zalatoris, 24, played in Saturday's final round alongside Justin Rose. After attending Wake Forest for her undergraduate degree, Sellers went to the University of Texas to complete her Masters degree. He was the highest-ranked player in the world without a TOUR win before beating Sepp Straka in a playoff at TPC Southwind. 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 ultimately fell one shot short of Matsuyama and finished in solo second place, good for a payday of $1,242,000. He came close to winning three times in 2022, including two major championships, before finally breaking out for his first victory. Sitting in a hospital bed on the Monday morning of the tournament, Zalatoris had to make one of the toughest phone calls of his life when he dialed up tournament director Jon Drago and withdrew from the tournament. It figures Zalatoris struggled to reflect on his numerous close calls over the past three seasons. Im always available for you, Mr. Gilmore., If youre ever in need of a caddie again let me know. Your login session has expired. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. [5] He left school after his junior year to turn professional. And then Smith was four shots back without hitting a shot. Spieth was three grades ahead of them growing up, but the three found themselves clashing on the junior circuit quite often. 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. I love you., On Tuesday, also via Instagram, Zalatoris posted a photo of the happy couple with the caption, Cant wait to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. So Im trying to get more centered over it and work more around my right side, so more of a turn as opposed to kind of a lateral shift, because like I said, when my right hip gets high and the spine tilts back, youre now all of a sudden creating all that stress on your back. There's a legitimate possibility it could happen again on Sunday as Will Zalatoris hovers near the top of the leaderboard. That offer came in 2015, when Zalatoris was 18 years old. Whenever we maybe mention something that you maybe want to change, I think all of us kind of had some red flags go up. Whether you win or lose, its just what you practice for.. Critics say new PGA Tour events copy LIV. Zalatoris had honors, but his shot was in trouble immediately. The post included the caption, Best day of my life. Will was voted the 2020-2021 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year by his peers. 1 in the world stays with Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who missed the cut and spent Sunday playing Pine Valley for the first time. Zalatoris entered August's BMW Championship in the advantageous No. Zalatoris didnt end up winning the hardware that year, but he did hoist the trophy a few years later. TSR3 Titleist Driver. Zalatoris is no longer the best on the PGA Tour without a victory. That issue was muscular, not structural like the current one, so it kind of came out of the blue, he said. That included events like the 2009 U.S. I basically am trying to get more, be a little bit more centered as opposed to having kind of ball forward with more spine tilt at address, he said. 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. An MRI revealed that Zalatoris, 26, had two herniated disks. Zalatoris doesn't enter the final round with any cushion because the same club that's troubled him in the early stages of his career can still be a nuisance. Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship, "Zalatoris, Riley progress from U.S. 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. Zalatoris had to have an emergency appendectomy. 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. At seventh in the Presidents Cup points standings, he likely would have been among the six . Back in 2015, he finished T4 at the Pacific Coast Amateur shortly after returning from an emergency appendectomy. 3. Will Zalatoris. [7] With no status in 2019, Zalatoris relied on Monday qualifying and sponsor exemptions to play in Korn Ferry Tour events. The Tour Championship field at East Lake will fall to 29 and the starting strokes for other players in the field will not be affected. NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic. The first event of 2023 also could be Will Zalatoris' first start since August. Will Zalatoris after his missed putt on the . How much "louder" will LIV Golf get in its second season? He became the first player to be voted Rookie of the Year without having a card in 20 years (Charles Howell III did so in 2001). The two have been together for more than four years now after meeting at Wake Forest college in late 2018. 7 World Ranking. He spent much of his teenage golfing years playing junior tournaments in Texas alongside his friend Jordan Spieth. Will Zalatoris is married to Caitlyn Sellers. Zalatoris has played just 40 holes since his thrilling playoff with Straka in the opening event of this years FedExCup Playoffs. "Add the nerves of competing for a tournament to that, especially for a playoff event, and yeah, it can get a little crazy.". So it was actually kind of a nice fix.. 7 the season prior. 1. One of Zalatoris favorite stories to tell about the three is a time when he and Scheffler were 11 and they played a round with Spieth (who was 14 at the time) at Bent Tree. For the time being, Zalatoris said hes using a 44.75-inch driver shaft, down an inch and a quarter from his former 46-inch gamer. This one could have gone either way, a playoff that featured three penalty drops in three holes, neither player making birdie and Zalatoris winning on the par-3 11th with a bogey. 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. But his speed has remained the same as it was from last year when he finished 13th in driving distance on Tour at 314.7 yards a pop. [9] The win moved him to the leader on the Korn Ferry Tour points list and qualified him for the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Zalatoris, 26, was injured on the third hole of the third round of the BMW Championship on Saturday at Wilmington Country Club in Delaware. 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. It was quite the scene at Wilmington (Del.) A huge break for Zalatoris? Thursday afternoon in Hawaii cant come soon enough. When tournaments started up, I was ready to go. It was there that Zalatoris, a 24-year-old upstart that was playing in Korn Ferry Tour events just six months earlier, found himself battling it out with Hideki Matsuyama and fellow DFW product Jordan Spieth for a green jacket. Junior Amateur title in 2014. Besides him, Will Zalatoris' fans showered their blessings on the couple. Before heading off to play collegiately, he won both the Texas State Amateur and the U.S. If that doesnt sound like a household name to you, dont worry. 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. He also fell short of winning the 2022 U.S. Open, with Matthew Fitzpatrick making Zalatoris a major runner-up for the third time. Find more golf coverage from The Dallas Morning News here. 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 spent his weekend on the greens, but not the one he's used to. $14,217,888 Career Earnings. He had to sit out the Presidents Cup but did appear on-site to cheer on the U.S. Be a little more centered, as opposed to having ball forward with more spine tilt at address, Zalatoris said. Each morning, he ate a full breakfast at 6 a.m. and then waited until late in the evening to have a robust dinner. 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. Nevertheless, his first win would not be an easy one. "T" = Tied William Patrick Zalatoris (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional golfer. Will Zalatoris has been nursing a bad back since the FedEx Cup playoffs, but he found an important way to fill his schedule between starts by tying the knot. Id go to the course, carrying my bag, playing with my buddies, just trying to beat the crap out of each other. But he took up his teammates offer to come out and hang with the team for a . They examined the pressures of his swing, concluding a motor pattern was the root cause of the strain on his back. After a short visit and numerous stretches, Zalatoris decided to withdraw from the event. Straka won his first PGA TOUR title earlier in the year at The Honda Classic. Zalatoris wanted to make swing changes to prevent an injury like this one from happening again. The fix: adjusting his setup, with the goal of reducing the strain on his back. At the time, Zalatoris was leading the FedEx Cup after capturing his first PGA Tour win a week earlier in Memphis. Ill be better this time. "Playing the cutline is one of the toughest things in golf. After sustaining a back injury in the first round of the 149th British Open, Will Zalatoris has withdrawn from his debut at the championship. Are they right? Its hard when youre the No. When my right hip gets high and the spine tilts back, youre all of a sudden creating all that stress on your back. Hes also changed his setup to help fix some of his motor pattern issues that may have caused his injury. It took three playoff holes to get the answer on Sunday in the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and it was more along the lines of what they won't say. Ranking all 30 Tour Championship players, The 30 players headed to the Tour Championship and finale of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs, Author of seven books on college football. "Considering where Sepp was and he had 4 feet for 5, there's no reason for me to try that shot and make it bank right into the grass and go back in the water and all of a sudden I've lost the golf tournament," Zalatoris said. Zalatoris had four runners-up including three in major championships before winning in Memphis. The shutdown simplified things.. Zalatoris is among a notable list of first-time TOUR winners who have committed to the Sentry Tournament of. Despite his big win, Zalatoris still has not received his PGA . Im always available for you, Mr. Gilmore. In Texas, we couldnt practice, but we could play. He also has three runner-up finishes in major championships . He lost a sudden-death playoff to Luke List when List hit his approach shot to a foot away from the first playoff hole and made birdie. He didnt exactly take it easy during his time off. Among his eight top-10s are three runners-up, including at two majorsthe PGA Championship and U.S . But I think the big thing for me is we spent a lot of time understanding the pressures of my golf swing and understanding how I push off my right side. A month before his Masters breakthrough in 2021, Zalatoris was surprised by Romo with a congratulatory message for qualifying for The PLAYERS Championship. Was all but a lock to make roster as a captains pick, begging the question of who will replace him, How Will Zalatoris turned his putter into a strength. I love you., A post shared by Will Zalatoris (@willzalatoris). [2] He attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina, and was named ACC Player of the Year in 2017. "The first three local golfers pictured: 16-year-old Jordan Spieth, 13-year-old Will Zalatoris and 13-year-old Scottie Scheffler.They turned out OK. pic.twitter.com/bp5TlirfkB. Born in San Francisco, California, Will Zalatoris was introduced to the game early on playing with his parents at California Golf Club. 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?". Clearly ready to end the first-timers . QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play Yes, as a 14-year-old kid. Luckily for Zalatoris, Nelson organizers honored the exemption the following year and he made the start as a 19 year old. Zalatoris (back) pulls out of Tour Championship, A battle for No. But during the third round at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, Zalatoris suffered a back injury on the third hole. 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. Please logout and login again. He lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Straka followed with a shot that also hit the bank, took one bounce off the rocks and went into the water. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Tyler Lauletta. The Wake Forest alum has been a premier ball-striker for four consecutive seasons in TOUR-sanctioned competition, and he admits its not natural inclination to want to change anything. Will Zalatoris is looking to keep the Southern Hills major streak alive. The train of the wedding dress was spread over the stairs while she was holding white flowers in her hand. Results not in chronological order before 2019 and in 2020. In April 2021, Zalatoris was second in the Masters Tournament with a score of 9-under-par, finishing one stroke behind champion Hideki Matsuyama, the first male Japanese player to win a major. Find classes that best matches your needs. They are unarguably made for each other. Aiming for his first PGA Tour win, Zalatoris might make the 2022 PGA Championship his first title. The couple, who have been dating for a long time, announced their engagement back in April 2021 and have since been very vocal about their relationship. "That was another good step for Will," said . 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. But the speeds the same, everything feels really good.. Wills strong play continued and he finished in 2nd place at the 2021 Masters Tournament, one stroke behind the champion. In 2009, @dallasnews ran an advance for the 2009 U.S. He finished second in two majors this year, losing a playoff to Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship and narrowly missing a birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open that would have tied him with Fitzpatrick. 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. September 14, 2022 4:18 pm ET Will Zalatoris had quite the year. After withdrawing from the 2021 Open Championship due to a muscular issue, he finished T8 in his next start, the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational three weeks later. Kim is the first player since Tiger Woods to win twice on TOUR before turning 21. Will attended Wake Forest University where he received the Arnold Palmer Scholarship. Lucas Glover came away with a consolation prize. But the speeds the same; everything feels really good. Let us take your yoga routines to the next level with our 365 day challenge and programs schedule. He had no realistic shot. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup standings after capturing his first PGA Tour win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. 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.