Will Zalatoris' painful reality

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Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026

Will Zalatoris was the next big thing. His sinewy frame produced a swing both violent and surgical, like the crack of Indiana Jones’s bullwhip against the sky, and the results arrived nearly as fast. He tore through the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020, tied for sixth in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot that September and had his tour card by fall. Within two years he had come within a stroke of a green jacket, lost two more majors by the slimmest of margins and finally claimed his first title in the PGA Tour’s 2022 postseason. His name was ready to echo off the game’s canyon walls, the only thing left to find out was how far the sound would carry.

Four years later, the canyons are quiet.

One week after that first win, Zalatoris withdrew from the BMW Championship with lower-back spasms. A herniated disc and surgery followed. He has made 40 starts in the four seasons since, and the procedure has become a line of demarcation with 17 top-10s on tour before the injury, four after. Worse, the back won’t relent. Last week Zalatoris announced he will undergo a third procedure, one that will keep him out for all of 2027. “I’ve been through four years of hell, so it’s good to have something that will hopefully correct it,” Zalatoris said. “It’s not something you want to do, but when you have three tour physical therapists tell you it needs to be done at some time, you go ahead and do it.”

Zalatoris opened his career with six top-eight finishes across an eight-major stretch, so there’s a cruelty in watching him spend what should have been the years in the spotlight just trying to find his way back to the stage. He could still come back, though few golfers have returned whole from so much trouble with their backs. The tour keeps getting deeper and the tour’s new two-tiered system will only make it harder for outsiders. He’ll be 31 when he tees it up again, and the swing is still in there. The canyons will be there. Hopefully, he’ll get one more clean crack to send his name ringing off the walls again.

The painful reality for Will Zalatoris believers

Back issues continue to derail the young star's career

By Christopher Powers

What You Need to Know

Coleman Bentley

On Tuesday, TGL announced a raft of roster changes ahead of its 2027 season. Among those joining the league are Brooks Koepka, Jackson Koivun and Alex Fitzpatrick, who will join his older brother as member of New York Golf Club. Four big names, however, won't be returning for TGL's third season: Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott, Kevin Kisner and Lucas Glover.

Schauffele and Scott have won three majors between them, while Kisner delivered arguably TGL's most memorable moment, skulling a bunker shot into the flagstick on the league's opening night that had the entire SoFi Center running for cover and teammate Tiger Woods crying tears of laughter. Schauffele will be replaced by Fitzpatrick and Ben Griffin, Scott by Shane Lowry (via a trade with The Bay Golf Club), Kisner by Keith Mitchell and Glover by Michael Brennan.

Coleman Bentley

Yes, caddies are winning cars for their players' holes-in-one now. Or at least they are at the Genesis Championship this week on the DP World Tour, where the first player to ace the par-3 13th hole at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in South Korea will win a brand new Genesis GV70 ... and their looper a shiny GV60. Have a peek at these rides for yourself.

Christopher Powers

Nelly Korda made a huge podcast guest appearance this week. The top-ranked female golfer on the planet joined forces with the Jonas Brothers on their "Hey Jonas!" podcast, which debuted this past May. All three brothers are golf-obsessed, something they mentioned at the very top of the episode before joking that they were about to lose all of their listeners. That was before they explained they had a huge golf guest coming on in Korda.

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