Will Zalatoris done for 2023 after back surgery

Will Zalatoris is out for the rest of the 2023 PGA TOUR season after undergoing a microdiscectomy surgery to repair herniated discs in his back. Zalatoris, who was ranked No. 8 in the world at 28 years old ahead of this week, has been dealing with back pain for months and withdrew from the Masters because of the injury.

Zalatoris will not be able to return this season after the surgery. He has already proven himself on the course with six top-10 finishes in majors in his career. He has withdrawn from other big tournaments in recent months including the BMW Championship, the Tour Championship, and the Presidents Cup. He finished second at the 2022 PGA Championship.

His only win thus far was the FedEx St. Jude Championship last August, and he grabbed a fourth-place finish at the Genesis Invitational. In a statement on social media, he wrote, “Playing and living in pain is not fun...I look forward to getting back to 100%.”

He will be able to receive a major medical extension from the PGA TOUR to retain his exempt status, as he expects to be out for more than four months. The PGA TOUR will allow him to play a specific number of events next season — likely, the average number of starts that he played over the last three seasons with the number of starts in his injury season subtracted — to earn back enough points and retain TOUR membership.