Will Zalatoris played in his fourth PGA Tour event since returning from injury and had his best performance of the season. The Dallas, Texas, resident had a great game, but it was outweighed by Hideki Matsuyama’s record-breaking performance.
At the Genesis Invitational, he tied for second place, posting a final round of 2-under 69, finishing at 14-under, three strokes behind Matsuyama.
After the round, he teared up as he reflected on the week and admitted how he felt. lost family.
“I couldn’t say anything for a week, but I’m sorry. I lost a family member on Thursday, but she was with me all week,” he said through tears. “Getting a hole-in-one on Thursday was so special on Friday… so unexpected. This whole week has been about her. My family is going to be here no matter what happens. I couldn’t have done it. I’m very proud of the way I played.”
Zalatoris started the day strong with his first birdie. However, on this day, he fell back to even par at the 5th par 4. The former Wake Forest Demon Deacon added more birdies on the front nine and turned in 34 shots.
He made two more birdies on the 11th and 13th, closing the gap by a few strokes, and at one point took the lead. However, he suffered a bogey on the par-4 15th hole, all but ending his chances of winning.
Zalatoris, 27, was one of the sponsors exempt and made the most of it. He called it preparation for his next major tournament.
“It’s great to be able to work on those changes during a race and just give my all to what I’m doing. Like I said, I was hitting some great putts all day, but a lot of… I just didn’t read the putts enough,” he said. “I kept missing everything a little lower because there were a number of guys at the top of the hole and some guys were slow going up the hill.”
Zalatoris’ putter didn’t cooperate when she needed it most, and she made three consecutive pars after returning home.
“I don’t think the greens have slowed down at all. I think I was playing early the first few days, but it was a little scary because there was some crazy solid bounce,” Zalatoris said. “But I’m heading in the right direction and I’m getting better and more comfortable week by week.”
His game seems to be back on track with a T13 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open and a T2 finish on Sunday.
“Every week I’m getting better, so I thought I just have to keep doing what I’m doing,” Zalatoris said. “We have a lot of silver at home, so winning another second place is not very good, but coming back from what we had to go through physically, we are on the right track. ”
Returning from surgery and taking more than eight months off from golf can be difficult for a player. It’s incredible that Zalatoris fought for yet another victory in his fourth tournament, especially considering the mental trauma he suffered.
He’s on the right track and a second PGA Tour win should be in his future.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.If you want to know more about golf, please follow us. @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
