Will Zalatoris with the BEST and WORST shots of day one at The Open!
Zalatoris hits stunning hole-out for eagle at 12, but then has a case of the yips from a foot at 17...
Will Zalatoris produced a moment of magic on day one at The Open, but also threw in a contender for the worst putt you will ever see in a major championship!
Let's start with the good news at least.
Zalatoris carded a round of 1-under 69 at Royal St George's to continue his major rise in the game, reflected none better than finishing runner-up in his Masters debut at Augusta National in April.
The fresh-faced 24-year-old American traded four birdies with two bogeys on the outward nine.
He made a bogey at the 11th but then produced some of the biggest roars of the day when spinning his second shot at the par-4 12th into the hole for an eagle-two.
WATCH ZALATORIS' MAGICAL SHOT HERE
And here is how he did it
Follow all the action https://t.co/xYY44zAFs3#TheOpen pic.twitter.com/p52k5KcvEo— The Open (@TheOpen) July 15, 2021
Zalatoris would play the next four holes in level par following a bogey at 13 and birdie at 16, but he then came unstuck with a dreaded yip from a foot at the par-4 17th and it would lead to a bogey.
If like me you suffer from the yips now and again, you will probably want to look away now. The stroke certainly raises question marks over how effective the popular arm-lock putting method really is, that's for sure.
WATCH ZALATORIS MISS A ONE-FOOTER HERE
How it started vs how it's going: pic.twitter.com/c5xPvVsvV7
— Sam White (@TopFrolf) July 15, 2021
Zalatoris, understandably shocked by what just happened, also went on to bogey the 18th hole to end up carding a round of 1-under 69.
UPDATE: Zalatoris has now withdrawn from The Open through injury. It is understood the American hurt himself when hacking his ball out of the rough.
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