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Will Zalatoris has experienced an absolute nightmare with injuries over the past two years, so his first round 67 at the Valero Texas Open would have been an extremely welcome one.
Zalatoris was one of the more talented young players to emerge onto the PGA Tour when he burst onto the scene seven years ago now.
However, the 29-year-old’s body has caused him all sorts of issues, with his back proving to be particularly problematic.
Zalatoris underwent back surgery for the second time in 2025, and he ended up playing only 11 PGA Tour events that year.
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He has only made 14 PGA Tour starts since the beginning of the 2025 season.
Zalatoris has not yet qualified for The Masters, but a win at The Valero Texas Open would get him in the field at Augusta National.
Zalatoris spoke to reporters after posting a round of five-under-par in San Antonio on Thursday morning.
The 29-year-old was asked how he feels about his game after shooting an opening round 67 at TPC San Antonio.
“Really good,“ Zalatoris admitted.
“Not too thrilled with kind of how I hit it coming in until I hit that dart on 9. This is just, it’s constantly learning. Every round I play I’m picking up on something.
“I think I’ve only played eight competitive PGA TOUR rounds and then 12 rounds in total since I went to South Africa. The sample size is still really small.
“I think the part that’s hard too is when you’re on a major medical, you don’t get to really pick your tournaments.
“This is an event that even though I’m from Texas, I haven’t played in the past once I got on Tour mainly just because I liked having the week before Augusta off because it’s such a mentally stressful week.
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“But the fact that I’m able to spend time at home, work on my body, treat every single day like it’s a tournament day and see how my body responds, I’m kind of getting back a little bit to how we did it at the end of COVID when we were able to play golf here in Texas where it’s just hey, go out and play with guys, play money games.
“My days of five-hour grind sessions on the range are over, but I also don’t need to be working that long in the first place.
“So far, like I said, body’s been responding great to treatment. Austin’s here this week, he’s got me moving really good. Let’s just keep it going.“
At the end of February, Zalatoris was forced to withdraw from the Cognizant Classic just before his first round tee-off time due to an ankle injury.
His first start since then was at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, and he missed the cut.
After posting a great first round score of 67 in San Antonio on Thursday, Zalatoris was asked about the ankle injury he sustained in Florida.
“It’s all related to the back,“ the 29-year-old admitted.
“It was basically the nerve that — the sciatic nerve going down — basically from the ankle down I couldn’t feel anything.
“Basically, you know, the reality is that I’m 10 months removed from basically having my back reconstructed. If I’m complaining about just a little thing here and there, I’ll still take it.
“The patience game is obviously brutal because it’s even like a day like today where I make eight birdies and we’re still talking about it, but that’s been my last three years.
“So it’s kind of nice to be able to come out, and my routine’s a little bit longer. I’m still 29, I still have some spunk in me, but I still feel like a 29-year-old who’s had three back surgeries for sure.“
