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Will Zalatoris’ scuffle with the thick rough of Royal St. George resulted in an injury.
The nervous Texan retired before the start of the second round of the Open due to a back injury, he confirmed on Instagram.
Zalatoris, who shot 1-under 69 in the first round, said he injured himself while trying to cut the hay to the right of the 15th fairway. After using all of his strength to advance his ball, Zalatoris appeared to lean in in discomfort. He said on Friday the blow sent a “tingling” through his leg and was advised not to risk further injuring his back.
Zalatoris said he initially thought about withdrawing from the event immediately afterwards, but didn’t want to ruin his Open debut. After the hack-out at the 15th hole, he bounced back with a birdie on the next, but missed the last two – including a 1-foot miss at the 17th hole.
“Considering this is my first Open,” he wrote, “I felt like I had to finish the round (although that meant embarrassing myself a bit at the end ha!)”
Zalatoris withdraws from Open with back injury
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Zalatoris said he tried to hit balls and practice Friday morning but showed little improvement, adding that he was “gutted” for not continuing in the last major of the year. He said he was looking forward to returning to competition “as soon as I can”.
Up to 30th in the world, Zalatoris enjoyed solid form in the majors, finishing second in the Masters and tied eighth in the PGA Championship. He also shared sixth place at the 2020 US Open.
Before his withdrawal, Zalatoris was only five strokes behind the Open’s lead after the first round.
Here is Zalatoris’ full statement regarding his WD:
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