A month before his Masters breakthrough in 2021, Zalatoris was surprised by Romo with a congratulatory message for qualifying for The PLAYERS Championship. He was the highest-ranked player in the world without a TOUR win before beating Sepp Straka in a playoff at TPC Southwind. 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. He got married in December but also spent much of the time rehabbing. 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. Will Zalatoris on LIV Golf, Tiger Woods struggles after college, more Through it all, he managed to keep his nerve and the dry streak Zalatoris had been enduring since 2018 finally came to an end with one final putt. A closer look: For a while, Zalatoris was known as the golfer with the most money and the best ranking who had never won a PGA Tour event. 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 . He finished the season ranked #1 in SG: Approach and #1 SG: Tee-to-Green. 8:12 AM on May 21, 2022 CDT Updated at 11:37 PM on Aug 14, 2022 CDT. 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. He played his fourth shot out to 4 feet as Zalatoris was still going over his options. 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. Shortly after his second-place finish at Augusta, Zalatoris proposed to his long-time girlfriend Caitlin Sellers. Caitlin has changed her last name to Zalatoris on her Instagram account. "I am beyond disappointed," he . College career [ edit] Zalatoris was born in San Francisco, California. 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. Luckily for Zalatoris, Nelson organizers honored the exemption the following year and he made the start as a 19 year old. His tee shot hit the bank and then bounced seven times on the rocks before coming to rest. Whether you win or lose, its just what you practice for.. It was nice because I was able to bring the ball flight down; living in Texas, youre used to hitting the ball low, but its doing it by itself as opposed to having to manipulate it. 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. 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. The event was the first of three events in the 2022 FedEx Cup Playoffs, With his win, Zalatoris moved to first in the FedEx Cup standings ahead of Scottie Scheffler.[17]. [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. The Plano alum walked down the aisle with his long-term girlfriend, Caitlin Sellers, who has been his best friend. Straka, already a winner this year in the Honda Classic, narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie putt for the victory on the 18th for a 67. Sandler tweeted Have fun today young man. Will Zalatoris spent his weekend on the greens, but not the one he's used to. 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). Will Zalatoris is looking to keep the Southern Hills major streak alive. PGA: Mexican food, 'veg time' for Will Zalatoris, caddie - Golfweek 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. PGA TOUR players on Scottie Schefflers breakout season. William Patrick Zalatoris (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional golfer. September 14, 2022 4:18 pm ET Will Zalatoris had quite the year. Theres not much time to shake the rust; Zalatoris is quickly back to the throes of elite competition. Spieths first tee shot flared right, but he scrambled to save par. Will Zalatoris and Caitlin Sellers are considered among the most beautiful couples in the sports world. A huge break for Zalatoris? I did a pretty deep dive with Damon, my trainer, with Dr. [Greg] Rose, Dr. Duffy, he said of his team. Scott is the Breaking News Editor for the Dallas Morning News. Prior to moving to Dallas, he worked at the Detroit Free Press. When Zalatoris first broke onto the golf scene, golf fans on social media were quick to point out their favorite Zalatoris doppelgngers. Will Zalatoris found the end of Netflix.. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Stand with us in our mission to discover and uncover the story of North Texas, 10 things to know about Will Zalatoris, including his first PGA tour win, the 36-hole leader at the 2022 PGA Championship, ultimately falling short of his first major championship after losing to Justin Thomas in a three-hole playoff, ultimately fell one shot short of Matsuyama and finished in solo second place, good for a payday of $1,242,000, No. Zalatorisand his playing partner, Emiliano Grillo, let the group of Sam Burns and Adam Hadwin through as they waited for the PGA Tour physio. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.. 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. The post included the caption, Best day of my life. pic.twitter.com/qtEj1JyZdL. Smith declined interview requests. The train of the wedding dress was spread over the stairs while she was holding white flowers in her hand. Zalatoris, 26, was injured on the third hole of the third round of the BMW Championship on Saturday at Wilmington Country Club in Delaware. Spieth was three grades ahead of them growing up, but the three found themselves clashing on the junior circuit quite often. Glover closed with a 66 and wound up in a tie for third. Will Zalatoris scheduled to return at Sentry - pgatour.com The 26-year-old has long displayed an aptitude for quickly bouncing back from injury. Nothing was more wild than the final hole. "T" = Tied 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. How Will Zalatoris bulked up and added 12 yards of carry to his - Golf 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. 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.. Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis, scores and more. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. Will Zalatoris' Masters run not a surprise to Tony Romo - New York Post The Players Championship will be contested next week without its biggest draw. He birdied the first hole, made only one other birdie, shot 70 and tied for 13th. Will Zalatoris withdraws from BMW Championship: FedEx Cup points leader I realized I dont need to be on the range for hours; I need to play. "This course is where every shot you hit you're on the edge of your seat," Straka said. He tried to play through the injury but withdrew on the next hole. I mean, weve looked at everything that I was doing to make sure I was doing the right things and we were checking all the boxes and it was just strictly a motor pattern thing, 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.. But in the name of avoiding future injury, hes working through the proverbial process. Zalatoris finds himself competing with other DFW stars like Spieth and Scheffler on a regular basis now that theyre all PGA Tour stars. Amateur, when Zalatoris qualified as a 12 year old and competed as a 13 year old, alongside Scheffler and Spieth. 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. 8 in the standings and is assured his first trip to the Tour Championship at East Lake. Stars are everywhere on the leaderboard heading into the weekend at Bay Hill. Amateur Championship titled "Junior talent flourishing on national scale. NT = No tournament That offer came in 2015, when Zalatoris was 18 years old. A post shared by Will Zalatoris (@willzalatoris). Will Zalatoris watches his putt on the 9th. Here are 10 things to know about Zalatoris: Most golf fans introduction to Zalatoris was during the 2021 Masters. He is set to return pretty soon. Thats the most recent tournament he completed before injury struck, and its a feeling hes keen to recapture. And then Smith was four shots back without hitting a shot. The shorter driver allows him more time to bring a potential right miss back on line, he said. As Dr. Rose said, duh, no wonder I had a back issue, Zalatoris quipped. I spent some time with Dr. Greg Rose at [the Titleist Performance Institute], he said. 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. Will and Caitlin stood on stairs decorated with green leaves and flowers, making an arc above their heads on an olive-colored wall. There's a legitimate possibility it could happen again on Sunday as Will Zalatoris hovers near the top of the leaderboard. 3. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather.