Will Zalatoris during the first round of the Travelers Championship. | Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
After missing the U.S. Open cut, Zalatoris flew directly from North Carolina to Connecticut to practice, and his decision to do so paid off.
CROMWELL, Conn. — Will Zalatoris looked lost at Pinehurst No. 2, which explains why he missed the cut at the U.S. Open.
But instead of dwelling on his poor play, Zalatoris flew directly from North Carolina to Connecticut to get extra practice ahead of the Travelers Championship. The move has paid off to this point, as Zalatoris shot an impressive 6-under 64 on day one—his lowest round of the season. He now trails leader Tom Kim by two.
“I got out here Saturday night, and then Sunday, I had an all-day grind session to try to figure out what was going on,” Zalatoris explained.
“I got into some bad habits, figured out what I needed to fix, and just dug it out of the dirt. It’s kind of nice to be able to do that.”
Zalatoris missed most of the 2023 season after hurting his back on the driving range at Augusta National, only minutes before the first round of the Masters began. He subsequently missed eight months, returning at the Hero World Challenge in December. The former Wake Forest Demon Deacon then had an up-and-down start to the year, but finally put his game together at the Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, tying for second and fourth, respectively.
But he only has one top-10 since then: a tie for ninth at the Masters.
“Early on this season, I would play a tournament, need to take three, four days off, and now I’m able to just keep on going,” Zalatoris said.
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Will Zalatoris during the second round of the 2024 U.S. Open.
“So even though it’s nice and warm, that obviously helps with the back, but I think it’s just trying to find the right cadence of when I’m taking time off, and so far this stretch is the best I’ve felt.”
Now, Zalatoris can hit 300 to 400 balls daily, which helps when you need to find your swing. But he would have issues contending and improving if his back restricted him from doing that. Thankfully for him, those ailments are a thing of the past for now.
“The further I get from the surgeries that I had last year, the more comfortable I’m feeling with my back, the quicker I’m recovering, the better I’m feeling,” Zalatoris said.
“As the year goes on, even though my results haven’t shown it, I felt a lot better; I just got into some bad habits and thought it was just a nice reset after the U.S. Open. I love majors; it’s always been a career goal of mine to win one. I hated how I played, and sometimes you just have to dig it out of the dirt.”
Perhaps his grind sessions will pave the way for a victory this week at the Travelers Championship. Or maybe it will serve as a harbinger of things to come at Royal Troon.
Who knows? Regardless of what happens, seeing Zalatoris back on tour—and being able to grind his way through bad habits—is something everyone loves to see.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
