AUSTIN — Will Zalatoris will miss the entire 2027 PGA Tour season to undergo spinal fusion surgery in November, hoping to end what he described as "four years of hell" with persistent back trouble. The 30-year-old confirmed the plan at a media event for the Austin Championship, where he will make just his fifth PGA Tour start of the year in November and his first since the Valero Texas Open in April.
"I've been through four years of hell, so it's good to have something that will hopefully correct it," Zalatoris said. "It's not something you want to do, but when you have three tour physical therapists tell you it needs to be done at some time, you go ahead and do it." The operation will be his third back procedure after a microdiscectomy in 2023 and a disc replacement in 2025, with a torn labrum also hampering him this season. "I'm the oldest 30-year-old you will ever meet," Zalatoris, who turned 30 in August, joked. "It's all connected together, and I just want to get it fixed," he added. "I can't promise anybody anything because of what I've been through."
Back problems have stalled what looked a hugely promising career for one of the finest ball strikers on the PGA Tour, who received Rookie of the Year honours for the 2020-21 season despite playing only on a special temporary membership. He has one PGA Tour victory at the 2022 FedEx St Jude Championship but was viewed as a Major champion in waiting after three runner-up finishes. He finished second on his Masters debut in 2021, lost a play-off to Justin Thomas for the 2022 PGA Championship and finished tied second behind Matt Fitzpatrick at the following US Open.
Zalatoris recorded six top-eight finishes, three of them second places, in his first 10 Majors, thriving at Augusta National with finishes of second, T6 and T9 in his first three appearances before missing the cut on his fourth start in 2025. The recoil in his swing for a slightly built player has placed heavy strain on his back, and he now faces another lengthy rehabilitation as he hopes the fusion will finally rectify the issue. Still only 30, he has time to rebuild, but another tough road to recovery lies ahead.