For the first time since the 2023 WGC-Dell Match Play, Will Zalatoris will tee it up on the PGA Tour. The wiry right-hander will compete in this week’s Sony Open at Waialae Country Club as he begins his long trek back to relevance following a prolonged absence from the sport due to a back injury.
First rearing its ugly head the week following his maiden victory at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship, Zalatoris’ back injury caused him to withdraw from the third round of the BMW Championship at Wilmington Country Club. He remained on the sidelines with two herniated disks for Team USA’s victory at the Presidents Cup that fall before returning to action this time last year at the Sentry.
Zalatoris’ return in 2023 was short-lived, however. Choosing to initially forgo surgery, Zalatoris played just seven times before the injury bug bit him again at the most inopportune time. Withdrawing from the Masters before his Round 1 tee time, the then-world No. 8 decided to hang up his spikes for the rest of the 2023 season and undergo a microdiscectomy, a surgical procedure to relieve the pain caused when a herniated disk presses on spinal nerves.
“Going through a change and really the rehab that I did from October of ’22 to December of ’22, it helped, but it didn’t solve the problem,” said Zalatoris. “It was kind of just putting a Band-Aid on something that needed way more. So I had six months to really be at home, think about the time over ’22, because ’23 was shot out of a cannon for me.
“And I think that really being able to process how I want to swing the golf club again, what are some things that I need to change in my daily habits, I’ve definitely seen the benefits. Kind of the adage of — and I don’t know who told it to me — but injuries are 80% mental and 20% physical. I’ve definitely learned that the hard way because this is the first major injury I’ve ever had. So realizing that each week, I’m going to keep progressing, even if I think I’m at a 100% I still could be better in the coming weeks.”
The 27-year-old reappeared in the competitive setting at last month’s Hero World Challenge. Signing for rounds of 81-68-79-71, Zalatoris finished 20th in the 20-man field and 31 strokes behind winner Scottie Scheffler. Despite frustration in his play, Zalatoris came away from the week as a winner as his back held up to four rounds of action and the competitive juices began to flow again.
No longer a teenager who can roll out of bed and onto the first tee, Zalatoris understands first hand the work it takes — and will continue to take — to get game ready in between rounds. He also understands how the body works and how a simple ache may lead to more.
“The biggest change is the post-round stuff I would say, doing ice baths daily. The pre-round stuff hasn’t changed a bunch,” said Zalatoris. “The post-round, because of … you know, if I play three weeks in a row something could get off, and then all of a sudden we start playing more and more and more and that could lead into something for me. I have to be cognizant of every little detail. Something in my right shoulder could be connected to my left hip, which could throw off something in my back. So the post-round stuff of trying to make sure my body is in as much equilibrium I can is probably the most important thing and biggest change.”
While Zalatoris would love to ease into the PGA Tour season, he unfortunately does not have that luxury. The Sony Open marks the beginning of the Swing 5, a qualifying mechanism through which the top FedEx Cup points earners will gain entry into the next two signature events — the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational.
Zalatoris is currently not among the 61 men qualified for these tournaments; he did not finish inside the top 50 in the 2023 FedEx Cup or the top 10 of the FedEx Cup Fall. A win will solve this problem, but so will a quality start or two. At world No. 43, Zalatoris’ path of least resistance is to climb inside the top 30 of the Official World Golf Rankings by the end of the Farmers Insurance Open. That seems like the right path to take, especially for a guy like Zalatoris.