Arnold Palmer Invitational: Will Zalatoris unveils surprisingly busy post Masters plan

Get used to seeing a lot of Will Zalatoris over the next few months.

After opening the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a 3-under 69, Zalatoris revealed his plans for spring 2024.

“I’m actually thinking about playing all the way from the Masters to the PGA Championship,” Zalatoris said.

” [The CJ Cup Byron] Nelson, in between, is like having a half-week vacation because you’re going home. ”

Based on this evaluation, Zalatoris will compete in the RBC Heritage in Havertown, the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Dallas, and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte.

Tournaments at Harbor Town and Quail Hollow are the fifth and sixth signature events of the 2024 season.

Zalatoris’ active participation in these events will be welcomed by golf fans around the world.

Last year, on the driving range at Augusta National, Zalatoris felt something pop in his back. He then withdrew from the Masters and was lying in a hospital bed days later. Zalatoris returned to competition at the Hero World Challenge in December, but surgery on his back forced him to miss the next eight months.

As a result, Zalatoris had to change his swing.

“The word we use for everything is simplification. I used to have very high hands, very vertical. It was like thrusting my right knee toward the ball. , I ended up doing a lot of side bending. Now I’m trying to spread my legs out, get as horizontal as possible, and try to get as much rotation as possible,” Zalatoris explained.

“I’m just trying to hit three shots that cut a little bit to get some distance, a little draw to get a little bit more distance, and then just a simple straight shot from there. Before the surgery, I was moving the ball more. But now it’s so simple and it’s so great.”

Zalatoris said these changes have shortened his tee shot distance. He also switched to a shorter driver to reduce strain on his back.

But he doesn’t complain too much about these changes.

Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images

“I want to go back to that 46-year-old age.” [inch driver]just add another 12, 15 yards, but I’ve never been that good at hitting the fairway, so so far I’m pretty good at hitting the fairway [this week]” Zalatoris said.

“Actually, even though my distance is down, I can hit it more into the fairway, so I feel like I’m catching everything on the net.”

Zalatoris has grown accustomed to these adjustments after missing out on the Sony Open in Hawaii. He tied for 34th at the American Express and then tied for 13th at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

However, his best result was a tie for second at Riviera. He rejoined the fray and the next step was to win.

It would be special for Zalatoris to win this week at Bay Hill.

Not only did this mark his first win since major surgery, but Arnold Palmer also attended Wake Forest, as did Zalatoris.

“Everything feels really good,” Zalatoris said. “We just have to keep doing what we’re doing.”

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.