Will Zalatoris

Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick emerged atop the leaderboard at the U.S. Open on Saturday during a brutal round in which eight players had at least a ...

A former PGA champion, he called it "probably the highlight of my whole entire life." Denny McCarthy made the cut on the number at 3-over par. To play that back nine at even par today was a really good effort, I thought. This Saturday at Brookline was so wild that Rahm was the last of eight players who had at least a share of the lead at some point. If anything, he said it was getting dark and he didn't notice his ball sitting down in the sand. That's all I was trying to do. He made one birdie in his round of 73. "I have 18 holes, and I'm only one shot back," he said. It's not like Rahm had full rights to the lead. Rahm's first shot from a fairway bunker hit the lip and nearly rolled into his footprint. He was equally steady and ran off three birdies over his last five holes for a 68. That's what knocked defending U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm out of the lead on the final hole.

It was a tough day at The Country Club for many golfers during Round 3 of the U.S. Open. That wasn't the case for Will Zalatoris, though.

It seems the difficult times may continue Sunday. Temperatures are expected be in the low 60s for Round 4, and wind gusts are still expected to exceed 20 mph. Don't expect scores to reach the levels of Rounds 1 and 2. Collin Morikawa, Joel Dahmen and Rory McIlroy were at or near the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes, but on Saturday, they toiled. It also was his lowest score in the third round of a major tournament. So Zalatoris' 67 did more than just put him in the mix. Many golfers who impressed Thursday and Friday couldn't quite hit their groove in Round 3.

Will Zalatoris hasn't claimed any PGA Tour victories to date, despite 15 top-10 finishes, but he has a shot to win the U.S. Open on Sunday.

“When I played during the Am in 2013, I said this was the hardest golf course that I had ever played. Zalatoris, a former Wake Forest star, will need all of that talent in the final round to tame The Country Club course. Can Zalatoris overcome their challenges while also finding a way to defeat Fitzpatrick, who won the 2013 U.S. Amateur that Zalatoris also played in on this course? I’ve put myself in this situation a few times in my career, and obviously have to go out and get it tomorrow. BROOKLINE, Mass. — Will Zalatoris is built like a flag stick, and that is the most conspicuous thing about him. At 25, he has already proven to be a fearless player when confronted by major championship pressure, and it’s only a matter of time before he breaks through and does something his good friend, former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, never did:

The goal was rooted at age 6, when a young Zalatoris noticed Ken Venturi's 1964 U.S. Open trophy on display at the California Golf Club of San Francisco, one of ...

“There’s a difference in thinking it and then actually being in the situation and believing it. Now he takes aim at his first TOUR title, his first major title, against a backdrop that appears well suited for his skill set. “I’ve had a few long waits so far in my career,” Zalatoris said. Zalatoris previously said that he felt “imposter syndrome” in his PGA Championship playoff against Thomas. As he finds this stage time and again, his confidence grows. “Coming off the PGA (Championship), it gave me a lot of belief and confidence that I belong in this situation,” Zalatoris said. He's now a first-year TOUR member, but his game indicates a confidence and maturity beyond his years. He entered this week’s U.S. Open at The Country Club with five top-10 finishes in eight career major starts, including a runner-up at the 2021 Masters and a playoff loss to Justin Thomas at last month’s PGA Championship. He made eight pars on the back nine, adding a birdie at the 503-yard, par-4 15th after a short iron to 5 feet. He made birdie on holes 2, 4 and 9, offset by just one bogey at the short par-4 seventh. He’s No. 14 on the Official World Golf Ranking, also the highest ranked without a TOUR title. Zalatoris, known as one of the game’s premier ball strikers, clearly thrives on the demanding setups presented by major championships. On a demanding Saturday afternoon outside Boston, Zalatoris carded 3-under 67, the day’s low round.

Scheffler, the Masters champion, also opened at +4000 and holds around 5% of tickets and over 7.5% of the handle. Last start winner and 2011 U.S. Open winner ...

Last start winner and 2011 U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy is three shots off the pace, tied seventh with Sam Burns and Joel Dahmen at 1-under. He sits at +600 to win with a round to play, tied with Canadian Adam Hadwin (+2200) and local Boston boy Keegan Bradley (+1400) at 2-under. All other contenders are either at, or over par, for the week and sit +10000 or higher to win. Fitzpatrick opened at +5000 and has roughly 2.5% of all tickets. 1 Scottie Scheffler produced an incredible roller coaster round, surging to a two-shot lead and heavy favoritism midway through the round before dropping four shots on the back nine. Rahm is +400 to repeat having opened at +1000.

By Keith Stewart, PGA. Published on Saturday, June 18, 2022. Will Zalatoris of the United States plays his shot from the 18th tee during the third round of ...

Will Zalatoris was not among the leaders heading into Moving Day at The Country Club, but a round of 67 now has him tied for the lead.

He saved par from the front bunker to close out his round, and then retreated into the clubhouse to sign his card But still, he knew the task at hand. Zalatoris added one last birdie — at No. 15 — to close out his round, and he escaped a beastly Country Club setup with just one dropped shot on the day. As he made the turn at The Country Club, the weather made a turn, too. He hit the green. He hit the fairway. He birdied the difficult par-3 2nd and then poured in another at the 4th. With the other contenders just arriving to the property, Zalatoris started making his move. He had eyes on the flagstick some 200 yards in the distance, but he needed a little more room to work. Moments later, his ball whizzed down the hallway of fans and elevated into the sky. And when he stepped to the 18th tee, his name alone adorned the top spot. When Zalatoris arrived on scene, a mass of fans crowded around his Titleist sitting on the dead patch of grass.

Zalatoris, who lost in a three-hole playoff at the PGA Championship last month, made only one bogey — a staggering feat on a beast of a Brookline course — for a ...

A former PGA Championship winner, he called it “probably the highlight of my whole entire life.” He was at 6 under and cruising until his wedge to a back pin on the 141-yard 11th hole bounced hard over the green and into deep rough. Denny McCarthy made the cut on the number at 3-over par. To play that back nine at even par today was a really good effort, I thought. Fitzpatrick, already a champion at The Country Club with his U.S. Amateur title in 2013, was equally steady and ran off three birdies over his last five holes for a 68. He made one birdie in his round of 73. He took two to the green and two puts later was no longer leading. Rahm's first shot from a fairway bunker hit the lip and nearly rolled into his footprint. Rahm wasn't upset with his swing on the final hole. That's what knocked defending champion Jon Rahm out of the lead on the final hole. It's not like Rahm had full rights to the lead. “Felt like I shot a 61,” Zalatoris said.

Will Zalatoris has failed to win multiple times, but he keeps getting closer and closer. On Sunday, he gets another 18 holes to try and finally give himself ...

Should he hold on and finally win his first major Sunday, you can bet Zalatoris will be keeping that ball for himself. "Obviously have to go out and get it tomorrow." The boy smiled as Zalatoris walked by and tossed it to him on his way to making his score official. Just keep getting the ball just around the hole." The margins, at this level, are so slim that any one tweak, swing or decision can change the course of a player's round, tournament, career. And this week, he has set himself up well to hang tough on a course he calls the toughest he's ever played. On Sunday, he gets another 18 holes to try and finally give himself more than just a learning experience. In the past, Zalatoris has struggled with his putter. Being that close this time, boosted his confidence and made him feel like he could be, as he put it, "one of the world-class players and one of the best in the world." "And I think it just makes the round a little bit more stress-free. Within the defeat, Zalatoris found something: belief. A little bit like Tiger, Zalatoris's game seems to rise to the challenge as conditions and courses get tough.

Zalatoris has placed top eight or better in four of the last five major tournaments he's finished. He also was the runner up at the 2021 Masters and lost ...

I've put myself in this situation a few times in my career, and obviously have to go out and get it tomorrow." "Yeah, that was brutal," Zalatoris said of the conditions. "I think it took a lot of discipline today. The temperature was in the low 60s and the wind was whipping around 15 mph. Make sure I just get myself on the green as fast as I can or at least minimize the mistakes." "I think the biggest thing for me tomorrow, obviously, there's a ton of major champions on this leaderboard, and by no means is the job done.

BROOKLINE, Mass. -- Eight players spent time atop the leaderboard, all of them getting kicked around -- some worse than others -- on a U.S. Open course that ...

A former PGA champion, he called it "probably the highlight of my whole entire life." Denny McCarthy made the cut on the number at 3-over par. To play that back nine at even par today was a really good effort, I thought. This Saturday at Brookline was so wild that Rahm was the last of eight players who had at least a share of the lead at some point. If anything, he said it was getting dark and he didn't notice his ball sitting down in the sand. That's all I was trying to do. He made one birdie in his round of 73. It's not like Rahm had full rights to the lead. That's what knocked defending U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm out of the lead on the final hole. Rahm's first shot from a fairway bunker hit the lip and nearly rolled into his footprint. "I have 18 holes, and I'm only 1 shot back," Rahm said. He was equally steady and ran off three birdies over his final five holes for a 68.

It's striking that Zalatoris hasn't won a tournament since the 2020 TPC Colorado Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour, the second tier of men's golf. Yet already ...

His ninth major brought his third final pairing already, with caddie Ryan Goble on the first tee mentioning how both felt far more nervous at the 2021 Masters. Now this rarefied terrain actually feels normal, and Zalatoris said, “I just felt comfortable all day.” I just have to keep waiting my turn.” “When it was two feet out,” said Scheffler, the fellow Texan and top-ranked player who had finished his round and tied Zalatoris for second place, “I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, that one’s in’ — and for some reason it went off to the left. “Will is a really talented player,” Scheffler said. It’s striking that Zalatoris hasn’t won a tournament since the 2020 TPC Colorado Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour, the second tier of men’s golf. You’ve got to get the breaks.”

BROOKLINE, Mass. – The emotion was palpable, the sting more severe. His runner-up finish at last month's PGA Championship instilled confidence.

It was only last year that he was named PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year after starting the year without any status. All the while, he maintains a keen understanding of golf’s complex nature and a willingness to embrace it. But Zalatoris moved up to eighth in the FedExCup, 12th in the world ranking and bolstered his Presidents Cup candidacy. I think that’s a big reason why he’s had a consistent rise the last three, three-and-a-half years.” He thrives on golf’s most difficult setups and embraces the stage. He tapped in for a 5-under total and a share of second with longtime friend Scottie Scheffler, who’d nabbed his first major earlier this year at the Masters. He’s been a fixture on major leaderboards in the last two years, making it easy to forget from where he has come. His first runner-up came in the 2021 Masters. He was grateful for the opportunity after playing his way off of the Korn Ferry Tour and into the top 50 in the world. He stated that he would be prepared for the next opportunity. This was the third runner-up finish of the season for Zalatoris, the highest-ranked player in both the FedExCup and world ranking without a PGA TOUR win. I thought I played great all week, especially getting off to the start that I did today (2 over through three). “It stings, obviously … to have three runners-up so far in my career in majors.

In the Englishman's wake were the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy and Will Zalatoris. What separates the U.S. Open ...

When it was 2 feet out, I was like, oh, yeah, that one's in, and for some reason it went off to the left. Defeat is difficult and the process isn’t for everyone, but even after another runner-up showing, another opportunity lost, the destination was still clear. His normally machine-like ball-striking let him down when he needed it the most, and he finished the championship near the bottom of the field in strokes gained: off the tee (55th). His putting, by contrast, was solid and his performance should at least begin to dispel the notion that his short game is holding him back. There was his 17-footer for birdie on No. 9 to move to within a stroke of the lead, which bounced between Fitzpatrick and Scheffler for much of the afternoon. It just so happens the last two majors he's been up against great champions in Fitzy and Justin Thomas [at the PGA Championship],” said Scheffler, who tied for second with Zalatoris. “I was watching the putt on 18. A Masters rookie hasn’t won at Augusta National in more than four decades and it’s probably tough to convince yourself that you’re the exception. “I was pretty sporadic off the tee here and there. Golf is littered with players who were never able to turn close into a coronation and, fairly or not, many of the snake-bitten were relegated to careers that felt underachieved. For most 25-year-olds it would be a resume worth celebrating, but late Sunday on the south end of Boston, Zalatoris wasn’t interested in a celebration. There was an appreciation for what he’d done well, not a crushing desire to lament what had gone wrong. For Willy Z, last year’s near-miss at Augusta National was his first time in contention at a major. Zalatoris, a rail-thin ringer for Owen Wilson who crashed the PGA Tour party during the lonely pandemic days and has become a perennial contender, was playing for his first big-league triumph, be it major or otherwise.

Will Zalatoris missed a 14-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at the U.S. Open that would have put him in a playoff with eventual winner Matt Fitzpatrick.

On the par-3 16th, Zalatoris made a birdie to sit 1 back. On the 15th, he missed the fairway again. On the 12th hole, he missed the fairway and had to punch out, which led to a 2-putt for bogey. The 2021 Masters runner-up's usual problems have come with his putter, but as he said with a smile on Sunday, his putting was just fine. "With about six feet to go, I thought I had it," Zalatoris said of his putt. After missing a 14-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that would have put him in a playoff with winner Matt Fitzpatrick, Zalatoris couldn't help but sigh as he was given the silver medal for runner-up at the U.S. Open on Sunday. He spoke to the media while screens showed Fitzpatrick hoisting the trophy, and then Zalatoris walked off with a forced smile.

U.S. Open 2022: After another major runner-up, Zalatoris playfully jabbed the trolls who will be in his Instagram comments this week.

He kept it lighthearted, managing to take a shot at his social-media haters in the process. Will Zalatoris, who is 25 years old and thus, terminally on his phone, is like Durant in that respect. BROOKLINE, Mass. — The comment section of a professional golfer's Instagram account is not a place any real-live human should frequent, especially the golfer his or herself.