When listing the most prominent players in professional golf today, the names that immediately spring to mind include the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods. However, there is one golfer on the tour who doesn’t receive the recognition that he warrants – and that is Will Zalatoris.
While the American is still early in his career and is yet to win a major, the 26-year-old has come agonisingly close on many occasions. He first burst on to the scene and became known to the wider public at Augusta in 2021, when he shot 9-under par and finished one stroke behind eventual winner Hideki Matsuyama to secure second place. It was a coming out party for Zalatoris, and as a result of his performance, he was rewarded with the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year award for the 2020-21 season.
The California native’s success on the sport’s biggest stage didn’t stop there, with him managing back-to-back second-place finishes at the PGA Championship and US Open respectively last year. Zalatoris’ loss at the PGA Championship in Oklahoma was a particularly tough pill to swallow, as he forced a three-hole playoff before his miss for birdie on the 17th handed his opponent Justin Thomas with his second Wanamaker Trophy.
The American would manage to overcome the heartbreak of three runner-up results at majors to reign victorious in his maiden PGA Tour event just a couple of months later – the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He showed plenty of resolve en route to victory, with his clutch eight-foot putt on the 18th saving par and forcing a three-hole playoff with Austria’s Sepp Straka.
He would ultimately get the better of Straka in the playoff, and in doing so, moved to first in the FedEx Cup standings ahead of Scheffler.
Can Zalatoris replicate that form and finally win his first major at the 2023 Masters? He certainly has the talent to do so, but his form in 2023 hasn’t been anything to write home about. That is evidenced in the pre-tournament golf bets, with Zalatoris paying 28/1 with most operators, which is good for 16th favourite. He is coming off the back of a poor showing at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in March in which he failed to advance to the Round of 16 after losses to relative unknowns Andrew Putnam and Harris English.
It was his short game that was the main culprit for his less-than-stellar play in Austin, as he missed numerous manageable putts that resulted in -1.56 strokes gained putting per round. Given how important putting has proven to be in Masters Tournaments in year’s past, Zalatoris will need to rectify any of his issues with the flat stick if he is to challenge at Augusta this month.
Despite his poor run of form this calendar year, Zalatoris has proven time and again that he is there or thereabouts at the majors, and with little fanfare and pressure surrounding him at the 2023 Masters, this could be the tournament he goes one better and secures his maiden major triumph.