Will Zalatoris will make his long-awaited return from injury at the DP World Tour’s Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, which begins on December 4th.
The news was confirmed on the Africa’s Major Instagram page, with a post that included an image of Zalatoris with the message: “The PGA Tour stars are coming! American Will Zalatoris is back for his second shot at glory in “Africa’s Major”.
The American has endured a frustrating time with injuries since 2022, beginning when he suffered two herniated discs in his back during the BMW Championship.
He opted against surgery at that point, but was forced to admit defeat immediately before the 2023 Masters at a time when he was eighth in the world rankings, meaning that, as the third round was taking place at Augusta National, he was on the operating table.
He was back in action in December 2023 at the Hero World Challenge, where he finished at the foot of the leaderboard, but there were signs he was returning to his best form in early 2024, placing runner-up at February’s Genesis Invitational before a tie for fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational the following month.
Will Zalatoris made his first comeback from injury in December 2023
At the start of 2025, Zalatoris played 11 tournaments up to and including May’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, where he missed the cut. Afterwards, he confirmed he had re-herniated two discs in his back, leading to more surgery.
At the time, he released a statement on his Instagram account explaining the decision.
He wrote: “Hey everyone, sharing a health update. This spring, I started to feel some instability in my back that progressively got worse. Following the PGA Championship, an MRI showed that I had re-herniated two discs.
“After discussing my options with my medical team, I underwent surgery this past Friday with Dr Michael Duffy at the Texas Back Institute.”
The statement added: “I’m happy to say that I woke up feeling good and excited about my long-term back health. Time to focus on my recovery and get back after it.
“Thank you to my team, friends, and family for being there for me throughout this journey. Looking forward to seeing everyone in the fall!”
In August, Zalatoris was featured in a video published by workforce management and HR software company UKG, for which he is an ambassador.
The video followed Zalatoris’ progress post-surgery, where he described “getting strong with my core, doing everything I can for my back, which has been going awesome."
Then, in September, another Instagram post from Zalatoris confirmed he had been at Liberty National for the invitation-only amateur golf tournament, the Nexus Cup, which benefits Tiger Woods’ TGR Foundation.
Zalatoris last played in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in 2024, where he finished tied for 18th in a tournament won by Johannes Veerman.
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