"Beyond Disappointed" - Will Zalatoris Withdraws From Open Championship

The 24-year-old injured himself during the opening round after hacking out of the rough

Will Zalatoris Withdraws From Open Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The 24-year-old injured himself during the opening round after hacking out of the rough

"Beyond Disappointed" - Will Zalatoris Withdraws From Open Championship

Will Zalatoris has withdrawn from the 149th Open Championship prior to his second round at Royal St George's.

The talented American, playing in his first ever Open, carded a one-under-par 69 on Thursday but injured himself whilst hacking out of the rough.

The rough at Royal St George's is supremely thick this week and Zalatoris looked to hurt himself during a shot.

The 24-year-old confirmed on Instagram that it was that shot out of the rough on the 15th, which sent a tingling down his left leg.

He says he was advised to not risk any further damage and is "beyond disappointed" to withdraw.

"I am beyond disappointed to pull out of The Open Championship," he said in a statement posted on social media.

"The second shot out of the heavy rough on #15 yesterday sent a tingling down my left leg and I have been advised to not risk any further damage to my back.

The shot that injured Zalatoris:

See more

"I contemplated not finishing the round yesterday, but considering this is my first Open, I felt like I needed to finish the round (even if it meant embarrassing myself a little at the end ha!).

"I tried to hit some balls this morning and did some extra work in the gym with no improvement.

"I am completely gutted to not be moving forward in the championship.

"I look forward to coming back as soon as I can...thank you everyone for the support."

The embarrassing incident Zalatoris refers to is the 'yipped' putt he hit on the 17th hole, where he missed from inside 2ft:

See more

The American is, incredibly, still not a member of the PGA Tour despite ranking 30th in the world.

He was 2nd at The Masters this year and T6th at the US Open in 2020, which gained him entry into PGA Tour events and started his incredible run.

Elliott Heath
News Editor

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!


Elliott is currently playing:


Driver: Titleist TSR4

3 wood: Titleist TSi2

Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1

Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

Ball: Srixon Z Star XV