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. 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. 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.. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. [16], On August 14, 2022, Zalatoris won his first PGA Tour event, winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee on the third playoff hole against Sepp Straka. Wake Forest University College. Will and Caitlin have been dating each other since they met in 2018 at Wake Forest College. Oops! Smith was given a two-shot penalty when rules officials realized upon review that when he took a penalty drop in the third round, the ball was still touching the red hazard line. Zalatoris is among a notable list of first-time TOUR winners who have committed to the Sentry Tournament of. 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. He is set to return pretty soon. ), 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. I have watched this 100 times and still cant explain it. He lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma. However, the Sentry Tournament of Champions recently announced that Zalatoris is expected in the field for the event in early January. He finished the season ranked #1 in SG: Approach and #1 SG: Tee-to-Green. Straka, who played bogey-free over the final 13 holes in regulation, moves to No. But that showing not only made him a household name to a number of previously unaware golf fans, it also vaulted Zalatoris to No. The current leader in the FedEx Cup standings. It was quite the scene at Wilmington (Del.) [13], In January 2022, Zalatoris tied for the lead of the Farmers Insurance Open after 72 holes. Ill be better this time. 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 entered August's BMW Championship in the advantageous No. There's a legitimate possibility it could happen again on Sunday as Will Zalatoris hovers near the top of the leaderboard. So thats why my speed is the same actually with the shorter driver. Smith declined interview requests. 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. He shared the good news via his official Instagram page on December 13. 2. This is the best of the best, Zalatoris said Tuesday ahead of the tournament. Zalatoris notches first PGA Tour victory in playoff, A battle for No. Spieths first tee shot flared right, but he scrambled to save par. 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 also has three runner-up finishes in major championships . 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. Yes, as a 14-year-old kid. He had attended every Nelson since he was 9 years old. Zalatoris is among a notable list of first-time TOUR winners who have committed to the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which will be played Jan. 5-8 at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on the Hawaiian island of Maui. They checked with Smith, who confirmed it was touching the line. Zalatoris told Golf Digest I was lucky. 8 in the standings and is assured his first trip to the Tour Championship at East Lake. But those battles started long before they were competing for millions on golfs grandest stage. Representing TCA-Addison in 2014, Zalatoris won the U.S. Zalatoris was born in San Francisco, California. Zalatoris, a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and a big Warriors fan, said his Stephen Curry-inspired retort was directed at all who have criticized his putting over the years. Scott is the Breaking News Editor for the Dallas Morning News. Find classes that best matches your needs. 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. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Our crew of Davis Riley, Kevin Dougherty and Tony Romo played money games five days a week for four months. It brought me back to being a kid. The former U.S. Open champion came into the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. But he took up his teammates offer to come out and hang with the team for a . Zalatoris won on the third playoff hole. He also fell short of winning the 2022 U.S. Open, with Matthew Fitzpatrick making Zalatoris a major runner-up for the third time. 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. That issue was muscular, not structural like the current one, so it kind of came out of the blue, he said. But in the name of avoiding future injury, hes working through the proverbial process. It figures Zalatoris struggled to reflect on his numerous close calls over the past three seasons. Its just because of the efficiency now of how I push into a golf ball.. 3. [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. He actually learned the way he generated power could have led to the back issues in the first place. At the time, Zalatoris was leading the FedEx Cup after capturing his first PGA Tour win a week earlier in Memphis. William Patrick Zalatoris (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional golfer. Amateur, when Zalatoris qualified as a 12 year old and competed as a 13 year old, alongside Scheffler and Spieth. Zalatoris Masters breakthrough wasnt even the highlight of his month back in April of 2021. He also set the individual scoring average of 70.44 at Wake Forest University. He was in the trees, close to a boundary fence on the 18th on the second playoff hole, when he wisely chipped out and made a 15-foot par putt. One wrote: There was a slew of hundreds of comments from Will Zalatoris's family, friends, and fans congratulating him on the start of the new chapter of his life. After sustaining a back injury in the first round of the 149th British Open, Will Zalatoris has withdrawn from his debut at the championship. Will Zalatoris spent his weekend on the greens, but not the one he's used to. $14,217,888 Career Earnings. Zalatoris called the process the "easiest 15 pounds [he's] ever put on." . [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. Zalatoris who grew up in San Francisco, got his start in golf as a youth at the California Golf Club, went to college at Wake Forest and now makes his home in Texas combines the perfect . Each morning, he ate a full breakfast at 6 a.m. and then waited until late in the evening to have a robust dinner. When Zalatoris first broke onto the golf scene, golf fans on social media were quick to point out their favorite Zalatoris doppelgngers. Zalatoris had honors, but his shot was in trouble immediately. 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. Will Zalatoris finished second at the Masters in his first time playing Augusta National. An MRI revealed that Zalatoris, 26, had two herniated disks. "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. 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. Born in San Francisco, California, Will Zalatoris was introduced to the game early on playing with his parents at California Golf Club. 8:12 AM on May 21, 2022 CDT Updated at 11:37 PM on Aug 14, 2022 CDT. "He is also very disappointed that he will not have the opportunity to play in next month's Presidents Cup, where he was hoping to play for Captain [Davis] Love and represent the United States," Zalatoris' agent, Allen Hobbs, said in a statement. Zalatoris (back) pulls out of Tour Championship, A battle for No. He has suffered two herniated discs and has been away from the game. Zalatoris qualified for the upcoming Sentry Tournament of Champions by winning his first PGA TOUR title at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Zalatoris and Scheffler are separated by only a couple months in age, so the two played together quite frequently as juniors. Will Zalatoris after his missed putt on the . Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. A bad back is keeping the 26-year-old from competing in the Presidents Cup after qualifying for a spot at Quail Hollow. He spent much of his teenage golfing years playing junior tournaments in Texas alongside his friend Jordan Spieth. Wills strong play continued and he finished in 2nd place at the 2021 Masters Tournament, one stroke behind the champion. Follow Kevin Prise on Twitter. 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. https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/12/14/will-zalatoris-gets-married-caitlin-sellers-tournament-of-champions/, Mexico, Caribbean, Atlantic islands, Central America, Top 50 Classic Courses in Great Britain & Ireland, Top 50 Modern Courses in Great Britain & Ireland, announced his engagement to girlfriend Caitlin Sellers, Zalatoris suffered a back injury on the third hole, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The two have been together for more than four years now after meeting at Wake Forest college in late 2018. I spent some time with Dr. Greg Rose at [the Titleist Performance Institute], he said. He has competed primarily on the PGA Tour, where he has won once, at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship . He recorded three 2nd Place finishes, nine Top-10 finishes, and ended the year ranked #7 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Zalatoris shot 1-under 69 on Thursday, but on the 15th hole he drove into the thick rough. The former Trinity Christian Academy-Addison star is one of the top American golfers less than two years removed from grinding on the Korn Ferry Tour. 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. September 14, 2022 4:18 pm ET Will Zalatoris had quite the year. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. Will Zalatoris was born August 16, 1996, to his parents, Richard Zalatoris and Catherine Zalatoris. Being in contention as much as I was last year, theres just no better feeling than it, Zalatoris said Tuesday. The shutdown simplified things.. Not only was he among four players who moved into the top 70, he now is at No. 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. Maintaining a high spot on the OWGR allows golfers who have never won a major to earn exemptions into future majors. NT = No tournament Will Zalatoris. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com. If that doesnt sound like a household name to you, dont worry. Scott Bell, Breaking News Editor. He hasnt been in a film in nearly 20 years, according to his imdb page. Will Zalatoris has withdrawn from the TOUR Championship with two herniated discs in his back. Straka followed with a shot that also hit the bank, took one bounce off the rocks and went into the water. Let him tell you about adult film, 'It's f----- hard': Jon Rahm comes back to Earth at brutal Bay Hill, How to watch the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational on Friday: Round 2 TV schedule, streaming, One of the worst things to happen: Pro rants after PGA Tour change, 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational tee times: Round 2 groupings for Friday, How to watch the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday: Round 1 TV schedule, streaming, 5 ways the PGA Tour just got better (and 3 ways it got worse! 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. [6], Zalatoris turned professional in 2018 but failed to make it past First Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Q School. But the speeds the same; everything feels really good. We believe she is now a marketing analyst in Texas. Claims victory in first FedExCup Playoffs event before advancing to BMW Championship, Will Zalatoris new driver before Genesis Scottish Open, For all other business inquiries please contact Allen Hobbs: ahobbs@playersgroupmanagement.com, Our Address: Players Group Management Fan Mail - Will Zalatoris1800 Alexander Bell DriveSuite 200 Reston, VA 20191. "Playing the cutline is one of the toughest things in golf. 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 teed off at 2:50 p.m. But during the third round at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, Zalatoris suffered a back injury on the third hole. 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. Critics say new PGA Tour events copy LIV. Ive learned a lot about my body, probably more than I think I ever wanted to. Zalatoris was voted PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for the 202021 season. [14], In May 2022, Zalatoris finished second in a major championship for the second time. Be the first one to comment on this story. But the speeds the same, everything feels really good.. A huge break for Zalatoris? 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. Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis, scores and more. At seventh in the Presidents Cup points standings, he likely would have been among the six .