Will Zalatoris finally had an offseason. And he loved it.
The 28-year-old pro hasn’t technically had one since 2019, since he spent the four years prior either rehabbing his back or playing in the PGA Tour’s wraparound season.
Now, the last few months — without lingering back issues and without a need to play in the FedEx Cup Fall — he’s had a chance to actually work on things important to him.
“It’s kinda nice to have a year where as opposed to rehabbing, I’m actually progressing,” Zalatoris said.
And much of that progression has come in the gym.
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Zalatoris is in South Africa this week, making his debut at the DP World Tour’s Nedbank Golf Challenge. He tied for 13th at the BMW Championship in August — just missing out on the Tour Championship — and his only start since was a trip to Japan for the Zozo Championship in October. That’s just one start in three months.
“I haven’t played much but that was on purpose,” Zalatoris told the DP World Tour communications team on Wednesday. “I wanted to be home, be able to eat my 4,500 calories a day and 200 grams of protein and train and get better.”
Zalatoris said this offseason was the hardest he’s ever worked. Long known for his slight frame, he’s now added 15 pounds of muscle over the last couple of months. He’s hoping it pays dividends, too.
He’s been one of the bright young stars on Tour since he joined in the 2020-21 season, a year that was highlighted by his second-place finish at the Masters. He now has five runner-up finishes to go with his one Tour title (the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship), but he had to take most of 2023 off after he withdrew from the Masters and elected for the same back surgery Tiger Woods had.
Zalatoris returned at last year’s Hero World Challenge — the same event going on in the Bahamas this week — and showed obvious rust, shooting rounds of 81, 68, 79 and 71 as he worked through swing and equipment changes (he also switched to a long putter to help alleviate pressure on his back).
He found some success early in 2024, tying for 2nd at the Genesis Invitational and tying for 4th at the Arnold Palmer Invite, but he later withdrew from the Rocket Mortgage Classic and missed his next three cuts. He rebounded for the FedEx Cup Playoffs (T12 and T13) and got himself into every Signature Event for 2025. It was a promising finish to a frustrating year and a half.
Last year, he was 77th in driving distance at 302.5 yards (he ranked 13th two years earlier), but with his new bulk and speed, he’s hoping that can improve as well.
“I absolutely busted my tail trying to get my speed back [the last few months] and really get better with the broomstick,” Zalatoris said. “It has been good.”
