This is the time of year when players traditionally put right injuries that have niggled them all season.
When Will Zalatoris joined the PGA Tour at the start of the 2020-21 season, he wasted little time in making his mark, finishing fifth at the Shriners and tied seventh at the Farmers Insurance Open. He had already won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020.
Many pundits really sat up and took notice, however, when he finished second on his Masters debut and followed it with another top 10 at the US PGA.
But there were signs of things to come when he was forced to withdraw from The Open after an opening round of 69. Nevertheless, he did more than enough to be named PGA Tour rookie of the year.
The following year he could do nothing wrong. He won the FedEx St Jude, finished tied sixth at The Masters, second at the PGA and tied second at the US Open. On top of that, there were a host of other top 10 finishes as he soared to seventh in the world.
But then it all started to go horribly wrong. He missed almost the entire 2023 season after having to undergo back surgery. He returned in 2024 and managed another top 10 at The Masters and finished second at the Genesis.
The misery continued when he had to miss half the 2025 season after yet more back surgery, and he was able to make just four starts this year in a season ruined by a hip injury.
And there is more heartbreak ahead for Zalatoris, who has already announced that he will miss the entire 2027 season as he undergoes what he hopes will finally be career-saving back surgery. It means that when he next tees it up on the PGA Tour he will be 31.
He is currently ranked 525th in the world and will know he faces an uncertain future.
Of course, back problems are nothing new in professional golf. Seve Ballesteros suffered throughout much of his career, Jason Day was overlooked for the Presidents’ Cup this year because of his ongoing back issues and Tiger Woods won The Masters in 2019 after back fusion surgery.
Zalatoris had a microdiscectomy in April 2023 and surgery to correct two herniated disks in his back in May 2025, but all to no avail. When he came back to the game in 2024, he turned to a long putter in order to ease some of the strain on his back.
He told Golf.com: "I've been through four years of hell so it's good to have something that will hopefully correct it. It's not something you want to do, but when you have three [PGA] Tour physical therapists tell you it needs to be done at some time, you go ahead and do it.
"I've been in contact with the tour, which has been great. It looks like I can come back in 2028 and play in the Challenger Series if everything works like it should."
His last start came at the Valero Texas Open in April, and he revealed that he injured his back again while playing in that tournament.
Surprisingly, Zalatoris said he is planning to play in next month's Austin Championship in Texas and will then undergo surgery.
Beginning in 2028, the PGA Tour will have a two-tiered system, with the Challenger Series the primary pathway to the elevated Championship Series.
I am a big fan of Zalatoris and wish him well. No athlete should have to go through what he has had to endure.
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