After sustaining an injury in the first round of the 149th British Open, Will Zalatoris has withdrawn from his debut at the championship.
Zalatoris shot 1-under 69 on Thursday, but on the 15th hole he drove into the thick rough. It was so buried in the wispy hay that the volunteer spotters reportedly barely could find it. Zalatoris hacked at it with a one-hand follow through and bent over in pain.
Golf Channel’s Cara Banks, who spoke with Zalatoris’ agent Alan Hobbs, said he felt a shooting pain at impact and a tingling sensation down his leg.
Zalatoris, who was runner-up at the Masters in April, was scheduled to tee off in the afternoon wave alongside Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose, at 10:21 EST. He arrived to the course early to work with a trainer, but the pain was actually worse, leaving him no choice but to pull out of the tournament.
“He’s devastated,” according to Banks of Golf Channel.
Zalatoris, 24, has had an incredible rise in the last 12 months from Korn Ferry Tour to special temporary membership status on the PGA Tour and with a slew of top-10 finishes has climbed into the top 50 in the world.
“I contemplated not finishing the round yesterday (Thursday), but considering this is my first Open, I felt like I needed to finish the round,” Zalatoris said in an Instagram story. “I am completely gutted to not be moving forward in the championship.”
He entered the week at No. 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Waiting for confirmation but Will Zalatoris now listed as a WD from The Open. Didn't look right after hitting this shot out of the hay on 15 yesterday. pic.twitter.com/2hmgQEsvWu
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) July 16, 2021
