Former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Will Zalatoris had another surgery to correct two herniated disks in his back and will miss the rest of the FedEx Cup season, he announced on social media on Monday.
Zalatoris, 28, had surgery Friday at the Texas Back Institute. Zalatoris said he started feeling “discomfort and instability in my back that progressively got worse” this spring. An MRI after the PGA Championship earlier this month revealed the injuries.
“I’m happy to say that I woke up feeling good and excited about my long-term back health,” Zalatoris said in a statement. “Time to focus on my recovery and get back after it. Thank you to my team, friends, and family for being there for me throughout this journey. Looking forward to seeing everyone in the fall.”
Zalatoris has battled back injuries for much of the past three seasons. In April 2023, he had a microdiscectomy to remove a portion of a herniated disk that was pressing on a spinal nerve. He missed the rest of the 2023 season.
In 2022, Zalatoris was forced to pull out of the FedEx Cup playoffs after injuring his back in the second round of the BMW Championship, one week after he captured his first PGA Tour victory in a playoff at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He missed the season-ending Tour Championship and didn’t play again until the 2024 season.
The 2021 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Zalatoris was considered one of the sport’s rising stars after he finished in the top 10 of majors six times from 2020-2022. He was runner-up at the 2021 Masters and finished second at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open the next year.
Zalatoris, who missed the cut in each of his past four starts in majors, has dropped to 84th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
