Will Zalatoris Withdraws From Tour Championship With Back Injury

Only a matter of weeks ago, Will Zalatoris was celebrating his maiden PGA Tour title after an enthralling playoff against Sepp Straka. However, less than a week later, the American was forced to withdraw from the BMW Championship due to back problems.

Now though, it appears the problems are more serious than first thought, with it being reported by Zalatoris' medical team that his back pain was caused by "two herniated discs.” It also means that he is out of the Presidents Cup, which gets underway in September. 

In a statement by PGA Tour Communications, it read: "Will Zalatoris has withdrawn from the Tour Championship. As a result of his withdrawal, if all 29 players finish 72 holes, Zalatoris will finish 30th in the FedEx Cup, which receives $500,00 in bonus money. Starting strokes for remaining 29 players will not be affected."

In the release, Allen Hobbs also spoke on behalf of the American, stating that: "After Will's withdrawal from the BMW Championship on Saturday, his medical team determined that the source of his back pain is two herniated disks."

Zalatoris has enjoyed a superb 2021/22 PGA Tour season so far, with the 26-year-old picking up his first PGA Tour title, as well as nine top 10s, including a couple of runner-up finishes in the US Open and PGA Championship.

He had been sat in third place coming in to the final at East Lake, with Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay the only two in front of him as he pursued the $18 million first prize.

During the third round of the BMW Championship, the American had called for treatment on his back. However, despite some vigorous stretching and attempted manipulations, Zalatoris was unable to continue and forced to withdraw from the tournament.