For a while now, it’s a been a matter of “when” not “if” Will Zalatoris will win on the PGA Tour.
The 25-year-old rising star came close at the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. If he were to nab that maiden win in the near future, he’d be the continuation of a trend: there have been eight first-time winners on the PGA Tour so far this season.
The PGA Tour’s 2021-22 schedule started in October and wraps around the new year but for Zalatoris, he used his time off before the calendar flip wisely.
“I put on 15 pounds of muscle, adding some length to my driver, I’ve really grinded hard getting better with the wedges,” told Golfweek‘s Steve DiMeglio.
Rising up the ranks quickly is challenging, but Zalatoris has kept his head on right and focused on getting better while remaining humble.
“People are stopping me in the coffee shop to say ‘Hey that was a blast to watch you’. That, to me, was a very big difference.”
In the 2021 Masters, Zalatoris finished second, one stroke behind champion Hideki Matsuyama. Looking back, did he ever allow himself to say ‘I can win this thing’?
“Yes and no. I would say of course it’s [winning] in my mind, the back of my mind, all the time,” he said. “When I came out Sunday being four back and then starting off birdie-birdie on 1 and 2, I just basically told myself, you’ve gotta leave nothing behind.
“It was my first Masters, so, the story is not over.”
