Will Zalatoris injury problems resurface at Rocket Mortgage WD

The injury bug is back for Will Zalatoris.

The talented PGA Tour star, who first injured his back in 2022 and has struggled to stay healthy since, has bowed out again ahead of an event, this time at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Zalatoris completed eight holes in his third round on Saturday, making three bogeys, two birdies (one coming on his final hole), before shaking hands with teammates Nick Dunlap and Dylan Wu and retiring from the event. He was four under for the tournament at the time after opening with a 66 on Thursday.

Amanda Ballionis of CBS reported on the third round telecast that Zalatoris felt “good” in his hip, insisting it was a “good” hip for Zalatoris. His “bad” hip was the one adjacent to his two herniated discs that led to a microdiscectomy procedure in April 2023 after withdrawing from the Masters.

Zalatoris also told Ballionis that playing in his fourth event in as many weeks “finally caught up to him.”

“We will be dealing with a lot of discomfort after today’s shift and, with the utmost care, have made the difficult decision to withdraw,” Zalatoris manager Allen Hobbs said in a statement released by the PGA Tour. “It is important that he listens to his body and rests. He hates to withdraw from the Rocket Mortgage Classic and looks forward to getting back on the course soon.”

Zalatoris is in the midst of his second comeback season after playing just seven events before having season-ending surgery in 2023. He was first injured in the 2022 BMW Championship, a week after his successful FedEx St. Jude Championship.

After taking time off to rehab and make some modifications to ease the stress on his back, Zalatoris returned to the 2023 Sentry, where he finished T11. He recorded a top-10 before April surgery and didn’t return until the Hero World Challenge last December.

The 2024 version of Zalatoris has also tweaked his throwing style to try and shake off the risk of injury and it seems to have been successful so far. He had an emotional run at the Genesis Invitational in February and top-10s at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Masters.

So far, while he hasn’t withdrawn from the competition this season, Zalatoris’ game has been a bit of a letdown. Since Augusta, he has not finished better than T41 and missed the cut in both the Zurich Classic and US Open team event.

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A native of Pennsylvania, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was the captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as the head coach. Jack is also *still* trying to stay competitive with the local novices. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a reporter/multimedia reporter, but also producing, anchoring and presenting even the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.