Will Zalatoris

29-Year-Old Golfer

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Out

Injury Ankle

Est. Return 3/12/2026

2025 Stats

Rank

138

Winnings

$1,001,003

Winnings/Entry

$91,000

Entries

Rounds

2026 Fantasy Outlook

Zalatoris tallied $1M in earnings from The Sentry through the Truist Championship before a missed cut at mid-May's PGA Championship preceded another back surgery for the 29-year-old, this time addressing two herniated discs. He's slated to return to tournament action at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in December of 2025, so barring any setbacks, Zalatoris should be ready to roll in 2026 on another medical extension. Zalatoris characteristically was struggling with his putter before the injury hiatus, but his ball-striking ceiling is quite admirable when he's at full strength. He gained a collective 13 strokes on approach across three outings from the Arnold Palmer Invitational through the Valspar Championship. Read Past Outlooks

Handedness Right

Status Pro

Height 6'2"

Weight 174 lbs

DOB 8/16/1996

Birthplace San Francisco, California

College Wake Forest

Country USA

WD's ahead of first round

Undisclosed

February 26, 2026

Zalatoris has withdrawn ahead of his first round tee time at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, PGA Tour Communications reports.

ANALYSIS
It was confirmed by PGATour.com to be a left ankle injury. Zalatoris did not detail the severity of the injury at all, but it's probably better than had it been another back issue, which has given him major problems over the last few years. Ben Silverman will take his spot in the field at PGA National. Zalatoris is not in the field for the Arnold Palmer Invitational next week, so he won't get another tune up for THE PLAYERS Championship.

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PGA Stats

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Tournament Results

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

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PGA Advanced Stats

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Projected PGA Tournament Status

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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Will Zalatoris See More

PGA

DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches Cash and GPP Strategy

Len Hochberg

2 days ago

PGA

2026 The Genesis Invitational Betting: Picks, Odds, Predictions and Best Bets

Ryan Pohle

8 days ago

PGA

DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: Genesis Invitational Pro-Am Cash and GPP Strategy

Len Hochberg

9 days ago

Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Will Zalatoris See More

DraftKings PGA DFS Picks

DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches Cash and GPP Strategy

Len Hochberg

2 days ago
Golf Picks

2026 The Genesis Invitational Betting: Picks, Odds, Predictions and Best Bets

Ryan Pohle

8 days ago
DraftKings PGA DFS Picks

DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: Genesis Invitational Pro-Am Cash and GPP Strategy

Len Hochberg

9 days ago

Past Fantasy Outlooks

2025

2024

2023

2022

2020

After an injury-riddled last few years, Zalatoris was hoping for a bounce back campaign in 2024. Things got off to a great start with a T2 at the Genesis Invitational and a T4 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational before a T9 showing at the Masters. Unfortunately he would then go 11 straight starts without a finish better than T41. Zalatoris would close the season with a pair of top-15s in the first two playoff events, however. The 28-year-old ranked 108th in SG: Total last season, including 138th in SG: Around-the-Green and 132nd in SG: Putting. Those were two areas he's always struggled with, but the ball-striking was also nowhere close to where it was in his prime. Zalatoris has one of the biggest gaps between his ceiling and his floor in 2025 as any player on the PGA Tour. Hopefully he can stay healthy and get back to being a top-tier ball-striker.

Zalatoris' season came to an abrupt end as he withdrew before The Masters and subsequently underwent back surgery to conclude his year. That leaves him with question marks heading into next year regarding potential swing changes and how long it will take him to return to form. Prior to his back injury, he was playing like a top-10 player in the world, winning the first playoff event in 2022 and finishing runner-up in two majors. When healthy, he's proven himself to be one of the best ball-strikers in the world. There may be some initial struggles, but don't be surprised to see Zalatoris return to his previous form by the spring.

It was both an incredible year, and a year of what if for Zalatoris. He collected 11 top-15 finishes, but also lost in a playoff at the Torrey Pines and the PGA Championship. He also was just beaten out by one at the U.S. Open by Matt Fitzpatrick. Zalatoris was able to silence the questions by notching his first win in the playoff opener, but tweaked his back the very next week where it was revealed he had two herniated disks and had to take a 30th place finish in the final FedExCup standings. Back injuries can be career killers for golfers, so there are certainly a lot of questions going into next season to see how he bounces back. Zalatoris is definitely one of the more risky golfers in the top-10 because of the injury concern, but he's currently the best ball-striker on Tour and has World No. 1 upside.

Zalatoris earned Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour rather quickly after winning the Korn Ferry Tour's TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes in July of 2020, though he remained ineligible for the FedExCup Playoffs without having also notched a victory at the PGA level. In addition to eight top-10s and 14 total top-25s through 25 starts on the PGA Tour in 2020-21, Zalatoris' exceptional rookie campaign will be remembered for his runner-up effort at the 2021 Masters during his Augusta National debut. Zalatoris ultimately ranked seventh on tour in SG: approach, ninth in SG: tee-to-green and 11th in par-5 scoring. The sky is the limit for the 25-year-old Wake Forest product if the putter begins to cooperate on a more consistent basis.

The leader on the Korn Ferry Tour's points list has risen to a career-best 143rd in the Official World Golf Ranking thanks in part to nine top-10s in 15 starts on the KFT during the 2020 season, which included a win at the TPC Colorado Championship in early July. Zalatoris, a 24-year-old Wake Forest product, led the KFT in GIR percentage along the way while also ranking seventh in birdie average, fourth in total driving and first in total eagles. This combination indicates quite a bit of future fantasy upside if he's able to translate such quality ball-striking to the big-league venues.

More Fantasy News

Surges with Sunday 64

January 25, 2026

Zalatoris fired a final round eight-under 64 at The American Express to finish in a share of 18th place.