PGA Tour pro reveals reason for off-season weight gain

PGA Tour pro Will Zalatoris joked he gained more than 20lbs in the off-season because he got tired of people telling him he had a 22-inch waist. 

Zalatoris arrived at The Sentry looking a bit beefier than we are usually accustomed. 

At the end of last season, he said, he weighed 163lbs and this week tipped the scales at 182. 

He has started his season well and was only one stroke off the lead after round one here in Hawaii. 

"I was tired of people telling me I have a 22-inch waist and all that stuff," Zalatoris said with a smile when asked about his muscle gain. 

He explained that the added strength will provide the stability that will take the strain off his spine. 

It will also, hopefully, allow him to continue to hit the ball the same distance with less effort. 

Zalatoris hasn't really been the same player since he withdrew from the 2022 BMW Championship with a herniated disc. 

That season, he was the runner-up at both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open. 

He also almost won The Masters. 

His first Tour victory was also memorable, with Zalatoris bellowing a message to his critics when the winning putt dropped at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. 

"I really wanted to make sure that I'm setting myself up for the next seven, eight years, because right now at 28 years old, this is 'go time,'" Zalatoris said of his new fitness regime.  

According to the golfer, his diet since the playoffs ended has seen him consume at least 200 grams of protein per day. 

Three days a week he eats 4,500 calories, while the remainder he eats roughly 3,000. 

So far it's paying off. 

Let's hope he doesn't make the same mistake Bryson DeChambeau made though.  

DeChambeau, during his PGA Tour days, memorably added 50lbs to his frame in pursuit of becoming the longest driver. 

The reigning U.S. Open champion achieved the feat, but it came at a huge cost. 

"I ate things that were not great for my system that I was very sensitive to and ultimately it got to the point where it was a little bit too much," he previously explained. 

"I ate improperly for almost a year and a half and I was starting to feel weird, my gut was all messed up and so I went completely healthy and went on a Whole-30 diet, got a nutritionist. I was super-inflamed."

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