“I got away from my DNA of who I am as a golfer” - Will Zalatoris talks about his comeback from injury at Hero World Challenge
Will Zalatoris made his triumphant return from injury this weekend. It wasn't a pretty return, but he'd been out since April and unable to play. The former Rookie of the Year is a promising talent, but that only applies if he's healthy enough to play. Despite the rough performance, Zalatoris proved that he is.
He recently opened up on the injury, which was a disc issue in his back. He eventually had to have surgery, and it kept the golfer sidelined for some time. Zalatoris said this on the injury via Sports Illustrated:
"Kind of a golfer's worst nightmare is feeling your back giving out on the driving range at Augusta 30 minutes before your tee time. It's been a patience game. It's been a grind. I had a lot of really good advice from guys that have had to go through the same thing and all of them said take your time, no one's ever come back from an injury taking too long."
Zalatoris believes a rush to return may have exacerbated the issue, claiming that he might have tried to change too much to compensate, which backfired and kept him out until the Hero World Challenge:
"When I came back in January I still didn't really feel 100 percent. I tried probably to change a little too much in what I was doing and kind of got away from my DNA of who I am as a golfer."
He also admitted that the preparation for Augusta National to play the Masters in 2023 being followed by surgery a few days later was a bit of a whirlwind and gave him a "big swing of emotions".
Just like Tiger Woods, Zalatoris had been out of action since the spring but was able to return to the green over the weekend. Neither of them had particularly awe-inspiring days, with Zalatoris finishing 20th and Woods being 18th. Nevertheless, a healthy return is a big win for both of them.
Will Zalatoris details struggles in recovery from back injury
The former Rookie of the Year had missed about eight months of playing time. That includes the other three Majors and countless tournaments that he undoubtedly would have stood a chance in.
The recovery was a bit slow, and it had Will Zalatoris feeling a bit frustrated. The golfer said:
"It was just such a slow buildup. One of the more frustrating things was actually I was told I can't play more than three days in a row. I think this was at maybe month five. I had shot like 63-65-64 at home and I was like the last thing I want to do is not play golf tomorrow, especially with the months that I had leading up to that."
However, he seems to have bucked that trend. He just played all four days of the Hero World Challenge, albeit in less than stellar fashion. He finished with a +11 tournament despite a -1 finish in round four.