"This whole week was for her" - Will Zalatoris reveals death of family member, gets emotional after T2 finish at The Genesis Invitational
Will Zalatoris dedicated his runner-up finish at The Genesis Invitational 2024 to one of his closest family members. Zalatoris finished in a tie for the second position at the recently concluded PGA Tour event.
The American golfer disclosed during Sunday's final round that he lost a close family member on Thursday, February 15, after the competition's first round and dedicated his outstanding performance to the departed family member.
While talking to the media, Will Zalatoris had tears in his eyes. He said (via PGA Tour):
“I didn’t say anything all week, but I … sorry. I lost a family member on Thursday, so she was with me all week … It was very unexpected. This whole week was for her. My family can’t be here no matter what would have happened, but very proud of how I played."
Will Zalatoris' injuries limited his outing last year. He had only played in eight tournaments last season and had one top-10 finish. He finished fourth at The Genesis Invitational 2023.
He started the 2024 season with the Sony Open but failed to make the cut. He finished in a tie for 34th position at The American Express and then T13 at the Farmers Insurance Open.
The Genesis Invitational 2024 was his first PGA Tour Signature event and his best finish since the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship.
A quick recap of Will Zalatoris's performance at The Genesis Invitational 2024
Zalatoris started his game at The Genesis Invitational on Thursday, February 15, with a birdie on the first hole. He made another birdie on the third hole and then four back-to-back birdies from the fifth to the eighth holes. He carded one birdie and two bogeys on the back nine to score 5-under-66.
In the second round, Zalatoris again started with a birdie on the first hole, followed by a bogey. He shot four birdies, five bogeys and an eagle to score 1-over 70.
On Saturday, he started with a birdie again on the first hole and added two more birdies on the front nine. The 27-year-old golfer carded four birdies on the back nine and scored 6-under 65.
In the last round on Sunday, Will Zalatoris made four birdies and two bogeys to settle for a score of 2-under 69 and finished with a score of under 14.
Hideki Matsuyama won The Genesis Invitational 2024 after playing the final round of 62 and registered a three-stroke victory over Zalatoris and Luke List, who finished with a score of under 14.
Adam Hadwin, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, tied for fourth place. Harris English shot a round of 69 slipped down two positions and had a solo seventh-position finish.
Tom Hoge secured an eighth spot on the leaderboard, followed by Jason Day. Scottie Scheffler finished with a score of under 8 in a tie with Tommy Fleetwood, Sam Burns, Eric Cole, Adam Svensson and JT Poston for the tenth place.