Apr 11, 2021; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Will Zalatoris plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of The Masters golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Will Zalatoris finally broke through at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday with his first ever PGA Tour win, and he made it no secret that he was thrilled to silence the critics.
Zalatoris beat Sepp Straka in a three-hole playoff to open up the FedExCup Playoffs. There would not have been extra holes without Zalatoris draining a 10-foot par putt on the 18th hole in regulation. After that putt rolled in, Zalatoris turned to his caddie with an emphatic fist pump and screamed, “What are they gonna say now?!”
That was an obvious message for the naysayers. Zalatoris, 25, has been in contention in numerous PGA Tour events over the past two years. He has eight top-10 finishes this season, including a tie for sixth place at the Masters, a tie for second at the U.S Open, and a loss in a PGA Championship playoff. The weakest part of his game has been his putting, but that was not the case down the stretch on Sunday.
Apr 11, 2021; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Will Zalatoris plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of The Masters golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Will Zalatoris won the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday for the first PGA Tour win of his young career.
Zalatoris beat Sepp Straka in a three-hole playoff to open up the FedExCup Playoffs.
In the movie, Sandler played the role of Happy Gilmore. Gilmore was a wanna-be professional hockey player who joined a golf tour to try and win enough money to help his grandmother keep her home. He did so with a powerful golf swing and unconventional behavior on the course.
Sandler tweeted a congratulatory message for Zalatoris on Sunday that included four photos. Two showed Zalatoris celebrating his win and Gilmore celebrating his victory at a local tournament that earned him a spot on the professional golf tour. The other two pictures showed both golfers holding their respective trophies.
“Congrats Will! I’m happy for you!” Sandler wrote. “Happy’s happy for you! Enjoy it all!”
Zalatoris had come close to his first Tour win multiple times this season. He had eight top-10 finishes, including a tie for sixth place at the Masters, a tie for second at the U.S Open, and a loss in a PGA Championship playoff. He shot 4-under par on Sunday, and 15-under par overall during the tournament.
Gilmore also managed to win the Tour Championship in the movie with a different caddie, and Zalatoris broke his Tour winless streak in a somewhat similar fashion. Zalatoris fired his long-time caddie during the second round of the Wyndham Championship in early August.
Apr 11, 2021; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Will Zalatoris plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of The Masters golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Will Zalatoris shared the reasoning behind his decision to fire his longtime caddie during Friday’s second round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.
Zalatoris, the 14th-ranked golfer in the world, replaced caddie Ryan Goble with Josh Gregory as his fill-in caddie for the remainder of the tournament.
The 25-year-old spoke to reporters on Saturday about his decision, saying that his and Goble’s relationship had become strained recently. While Zalatoris said that Goble had practically been his “best friend for the last three years,” Zalatoris added that “it was just getting a little unhealthy” for both of them.
“We’ve kind of had a rough month together and it was starting to affect our relationship,” Zalatoris said via Adam Smith of the Burlington Times-News. “We were guys that we would love to have dinner together and hang out and what was happening on the course was starting bleed off the course and that’s not what you want.”
Zalatoris and Goble had a fruitful partnership on the course. While together, Zalatoris had eight top-10 finishes. This season, he finished tied for sixth place at the Masters, tied for second at the U.S Open, and lost the PGA Championship in a playoff. Zalatoris has earned over $6.6 million this season as well.
Gregory will be replaced by Joel Stock, who will caddie for Zalatoris in the FedEx Cup playoffs beginning next week.
Zalatoris shot 2-under par during Sunday’s final round. He finished the tournament in a tie for 21st place, and 9-under par overall.
Apr 11, 2021; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Will Zalatoris plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of The Masters golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Will Zalatoris came up just short of winning his first major at the US Open on Sunday, but he showed a great deal of class in defeat.
Zalatoris missed a 14-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. Had he converted, he and winner Matt Fitzpatrick would have gone into a playoff. The putt was well struck but rolled just over the left edge of the cup. Zalatoris was in disbelief.
Here is the putt Will Zalatoris JUST missed that would have forced a playoff at the US Open
Though he was understandably crushed, Zalatoris handled the moment well. Golf reporter Dan Rapaport says the 25-year-old went up to Fitzpatrick’s parents and delivered an awesome message.
Will Zalatoris is such a class act. After he missed the putt for a playoff, he went up to Matt Fitzpatrick’s parents and said: “If I had to lose to anyone, I’m happy it was your son.”
Zalatoris has come extremely close to winning three majors now. He also finished second to Hideki Matsuyama by a stroke at the 2021 Masters. He then lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff at the PGA Championship in May. Zalatoris showed some frustration when he fired back at social media critics on Sunday, but you have to give him credit for the way he carried himself after his latest tough loss.
Apr 11, 2021; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Will Zalatoris plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of The Masters golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Will Zalatoris had a message for his Instagram haters following the US Open on Sunday.
Zalatoris finished tied for second place at the US Open and was one stroke behind champion Matt Fitzpatrick. Zalatoris narrowly missed a birdie putt on the 72nd hole that would have allowed him to tie Fitzpatrick and go to a playoff.
The 25-year-old’s heartbreaking finish at The Country Club follows a recent pattern for him. Zalatoris finished second to Hideki Matsuyama by a stroke at the 2021 Masters; he lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff at the PGA Championship in May; and he lost in a playoff at the Farmers Insurance Open in January.
Zalatoris spoke with reporters after his second-place finish at the US Open and had something to say to the critics on Instagram.
“I’m sure all the Instagram morons are going to say it has something to do with my left wrist flexion coming down, but I promise you, it’s got nothing to do with it. I think just keep doing what we’re doing. This one stings for sure, but I know that we’re going to get this,” Zalatoris said.
Zalatoris takes some criticism because of the unconventional positioning of his left wrist on his backswing.
Love Will Zalatoris’ swing! The poster child for the antithesis of left wrist in flexion! Proving there is more than one way to do it! Lovely high arm swing, fast arms down with huge spin n Sidebend. Oozes torque and speed! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/yMpygH36aI
Love Will Zalatoris, such a breath of fresh air. A great example of a high armswing and “cupped” left wrist style backswing. To a shallow and spin downswing. Steep to shallow. So many styles. Don’t follow just one of you’re a coach. #justsayin (Vid @Titleist) pic.twitter.com/7LNVW4iHkF
In golf, there are good bogeys and there are bad bogeys. One of the ones Will Zalatoris made during the final round of the PGA Championship on Sunday is what you call an unbelievable bogey.
Zalatoris got into some trouble on the 6th hole at Southern Hills Country Club. He hit his shot way over the green and into some bushes beyond a cart path on the difficult par-3. After a lengthy discussion with a rules official, Zalatoris had to take an unplayable. His nearest point of relief was the cart path.
Rather than then taking relief from the path, Zalatoris felt his best chance to save bogey was playing the ball off the concrete. He somehow hit a perfect pitch shot.
Zalatoris then sank an 8-foot putt to save the bogey. He was just two shots back of the lead at the time, so it was crucial for him to avoid a disaster. That could have ended up much worse.
The 24-year-old golfer finished second at the Masters two weeks ago. He went viral for his resemblance to a “Happy Gilmore” character. Now he has capped things off by getting engaged to his girlfriend, Caitlin Sellers.
Zalatoris shared photos on Instagram Monday of the engagement.
“Best day of my life. I love you,” Zalatoris wrote.
In addition to his second-place finish at the Masters, Zalatoris finished tied for sixth at the US Open last year. His golf career seems to be ascending, just like his personal life.
Will Zalatoris was one of the stories of the 2021 Masters, and he will be remembered in part for his good sense of humor.
Zalatoris performed admirably on the big stage at Augusta National, finishing second at 9-under for the event. Many watching the event at home noticed how much Zalatoris resembled the first caddie Adam Sandler’s character had in “Happy Gilmore.”
Will Zalatoris showed at the Masters why he is on the verge of becoming a household name, but we have some bad news for you if you were thinking about shooting your shot with the young golf star — it appears he is taken.
If social media is any indication, Zalatoris has been dating someone since at least late 2018. That someone would be Caitlyn Sellers, according to Golf Monthly.
Zalatoris first shared a photo of himself and Sellers on Instagram in December 2018 when they were visiting San Francisco. He has since shared several posts about his better half, though the most recent was last July.
Zalatoris entered the final round of the Masters four shots behind leader Hideki Matsuyama. The 24-year-old has drawn attention for his hilarious resemblance to this movie character in addition to his steady play.
Will Zalatoris generated some buzz as a sleeper pick leading up to the 2021 Masters, and he has lived up to the hype through the first three rounds. Aside from his impressive golf game, you may have also heard of Zalatoris because of a hilarious pop culture reference — one the 24-year-old is embracing.
Many fans have hilariously observed that Zalatoris bears a striking resemblance to the actor who played Happy Gilmore’s first caddy in Adam Sandler’s legendary “Happy Gilmore” film.
Zalatoris, who entered the final round of the Masters tied for second at 7-under and just four strokes off the lead, is having fun with the comparison. He even had one of his wedges custom stamped to read “Mr. Gilmore I’m your caddy.”
