Will Zalatoris Staying Positive Despite Health Struggles

During the 2025 season, a few stars were out due to injuries.  Tiger Woods had to sit out for the season due to a torn Achilles tendon.  He’s still in recovery at the time of writing, but is planning on making a return this season.  Currently, Will Zalatoris is wrestling with his own injury that has been off and on for a few years now.

Will Zalatoris’ Injuries

Since 2022, Zalatoris has struggled with a back injury that has flared up over the years.  He has had to withdraw from three events, but had to sit out for a total of twenty non-consecutive months.  Zalatoris spent that time off in recovery and undergoing corrective surgeries.  This has led to him falling in the OWGR ranking from the top 10 to outside the top 250.  During the Cognizant Classic, he was one of the withdrawals, but his was due to an ankle injury and not his back.

Zalatoris On His Injuries

From an outside perspective, Zalatoris’ situation seems dire for his career.  However, Zalatoris is looking on the positive side of his injuries and is fairly hopeful for the future.  Rather than looking at how the injuries have affected his career, he’s looking at how he has progressed over the years.  In an interview with Golf Channel, he has described how, for the first time in four years, he’s not feeling any sciatica in his legs, a nerve pain.  He’s even using examples like Tiger Woods as a model for his recovery.  Ahead of the Cognizant Classic, Zolatoris was describing how he was glad that the pains were done.

“It’s great because I’m able to go week in, week out, and now it’s just about executing,” Zalatoris said. “I think the part that’s fun about this now is the three years of kind of going through all this are over. The sciatica, the leg weakness, like I haven’t had any of that.”

Zalatoris has gone through some mental struggles, mainly because these injuries have been almost back-to-back over the years.  

“You go through (a back surgery) once, that’s fine … ‘Hey, I’m still a great player, I’ve had a couple of great finishes, a top 10 in a major,’” Zalatoris said. “But then you go through it again. And that’s where the mental side of it is very hard.”

A Comeback In The Future?

Will Zalatoris has been through a lot in just the past four years.  The physical and mental strain of one injury and surgery is enough as is, but multiple over just a few short years is another beast altogether.  Yet he’s keeping his head up and looking forward.  He’s still young, and a comeback for him is still possible, despite his most recent surgery.  Zalatoris has had a rough go, and his career has taken a major hit, but it is still very much possible for him to bounce back from it.  He has had some good games during the times when he came back, ending up in the top 10 for three events.  He may even make it back into the top 10 on the OWGR.