[PHOTO: Ronald Martinez]
Will Zalatoris withdrew after eight holes in the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic with a reported hip injury.
Zalatoris, who was four-under for the tournament at Detroit Golf Club, made a double-bogey 7 at the seventh hole and birdied the par-3 eighth before shaking hands with playing partners Nick Dunlap and Dylan Wu and heading for the clubhouse. CBS analyst Amanda Balionis reported that Zalatoris told her that he felt a “pop” in his hip and noted that it was on his “good side”. There is a distinction for Zalatoris, 27, who underwent a microdiscectomy in April 2023 for herniated disks in his back. PGA Tour Communications posted on X/Twitter that the withdrawal was for a back injury.
Balionis reported that Zalatoris mentioned that he was playing for a fourth straight week, after starts in the Memorial, US Open and Travelers.
Zalatoris, whose lone PGA Tour win came in the 2022 FedEx St Jude Championship, sat out the rest of 2023 after his surgery and has returned to play 15 events this season. He’s made 11 cuts, but after a strong early season that included tying for ninth in the Masters, the American doesn’t have a finish inside the top 40 in eight starts since.
