William Patrick Zalatoris (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour. He won the 2020 TPC Colorado Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. He finished second in the 2021 Masters Tournament, while making his debut.
| Will Zalatoris | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | William Patrick Zalatoris |
| Born | August 16, 1996 San Francisco, California |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  United States |
| Residence | Plano, Texas |
| Career | |
| College | Wake Forest University |
| Turned professional | 2018 |
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour |
| Former tour(s) | Korn Ferry Tour |
| Professional wins | 1 |
| Highest ranking | 7 (September 25, 2022)[1] (as of June 23, 2024) |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | 2nd: 2021 |
| PGA Championship | T8: 2021 |
| U.S. Open | T6: 2020 |
| The Open Championship | WD: 2021 |
College career
Representing Trinity Christian Academy in suburban Dallas, Texas, Zalatoris won the U.S. Junior Amateur title in 2014.[2] He attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina, and was named ACC Player of the Year in 2017.[3] He was also a member of the U.S. Walker Cup team in 2017, teammates with future PGA Tour winners Collin Morikawa and Cameron Champ.[4] He left school before his senior year to turn professional.[5]
Professional career
Zalatoris turned professional in 2018 but failed to make it past First Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Q School.[6] With no status in 2019, Zalatoris relied on Monday qualifying and sponsor exemptions to play in Korn Ferry Tour events. He secured membership for the remainder of the season on July 7 after a tie for third at the LECOM Health Challenge, and finished the regular season 60th in points, earning full status for the 2020 season.[7]
Zalatoris' first professional victory came in July 2020, when he won the TPC Colorado Championship by one stroke.[8] The win moved him to first place on the Korn Ferry Tour points list and qualified him for the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. At the U.S. Open, he aced the par-3 7th hole during the first round, very nearly replicating it six holes later,[9] and tied for sixth place, at five-over par, alongside world number one Dustin Johnson; it was his first top-10 finish in a major championship.[10] He followed it up with a T8 at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, and secured Special Temporary Member status after the Bermuda Championship in early November.
In April 2021, Zalatoris was second in the Masters Tournament with a score of 9-under-par, finishing one stroke behind champion Hideki Matsuyama.
Amateur wins
- 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur[2]
- 2016 Trans-Mississippi Amateur, Pacific Coast Amateur
- 2017 General Hackler Championship, Rod Myers Invitational
Source:[11]
Professional wins (1)
Korn Ferry Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 4, 2020 | TPC Colorado Championship | −15 (67-67-70-69=273) | 1 stroke |  Chase Johnson
|
Results in major championships
Results not in chronological order before 2019 and in 2020.
| Tournament | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 2 | |||
| PGA Championship | T8 | |||
| U.S. Open | CUT | T6 | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | NT | WD |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
WD = withdrew
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Results in The Players Championship
| Tournament | 2021 |
|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T17 |
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships
| Tournament | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Championship | T22 |
| Match Play | T28 |
| Invitational | T8 |
| Champions |
"T" = Tied
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
- The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship: 2015 (winners)
- Arnold Palmer Cup: 2016
- Walker Cup: 2017 (winners)
See also
References
- ^ "Week 39 2022 Ending 25 Sep 2022" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- ^ a b Wildhack, Sean (April 3, 2020). "Zalatoris, Riley progress from U.S. Junior finalists to roommates". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ "Will Zalatoris Named ACC Player of the Year". godeacs.com. May 11, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ "Meet the USA Walker Cup team". USGA. August 21, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ Dell, John (July 1, 2020). "Will Zalatoris, a former Wake Forest star, hitting his stride on the Korn Ferry Tour". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ "First Stage – The Woodlands, TX". BlueGolf. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ "Will Zalatoris Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ Romine, Brentley (July 4, 2020). "Will Zalatoris wrote his caddie a check for the winner's share, then went and won". Golf Channel. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ Kelly, Todd (September 17, 2020). "U.S. Open: Will Zalatoris makes hole-in-one, almost does it again later in round". USA Today. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ Gray, Will (September 21, 2020). "Will Zalatoris surpasses KFT season earnings with U.S. Open T-6". Golf Channel. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ "Will Zalatoris". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
External links
- Will Zalatoris at the PGA Tour official site
- Will Zalatoris at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Wake Forest University Athletics – Will Zalatoris
