PGA Tour star Will Zalatoris makes big statement before Wyndham Championship

PGA Tour star Will Zalatoris has warned his peers he's finally matching the ball speeds he achieved with his longer clubs in 2022 before he had back surgery. 

Zalatoris was forced out of the 2023 Masters minutes before his tee time after suffering two herniated discs. 

The problem first surfaced at the 2022 BMW Championship when he tweaked his back in the third round and had to be helped off the course.

Zalatoris went under the knife in April 2023 where surgeons performed a microdiscectomy to sort out the problem. 

He made his return at Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge last December and so far his results have been mixed. 

Zalatoris tied for second at Rivieria but has missed cuts in two of the four major championships. 

He is also without a top-40 finish in nine straight events. 

Zalatoris also withdrew from the Rocket Mortgage Classic with an injury, sparking fears that he hurt his back again. 

Turns out, he just experienced a 'pop' in his good hip and decided not to risk it. 

"One thing that my surgeons did a good job of telling me was that the first year, your recovery is going to kind of feel like the stock market, where it goes up and down, but the line of best fit is going to hopefully trend up," Zalatoris told reporters before the Wyndham Championship.

Zalatoris is also guaranteed his spot in the FedExCup playoffs. 

At 45th in the standings, he's also primed to earn his space into all of next year's signature events. 

"I think if you would have put me in this position kind of where I was at this point last year, I definitely would be happy," Zalatoris said. 

"But by no means I would say satisfied with my play so far this year."

He added: "Beforehand, I didn't really know what 100% was, and now my speed with my longer clubs is back to what they were back in 2022, which is huge for me.

"I mean, there's a big advantage to that out here on Tour, really being over 180 ball speed."

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