It’s been a long time coming for Will Zalatoris, who, after multiple runner-up finishes including earlier this summer at the U.S. Open (Matt Fitzpatrick edged him by a single stroke), finally climbed the mountaintop, claiming his first tour win Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis.
Though it didn’t come easy, requiring three playoff holes and a do-or-die putt on 18 (Zalatoris also caught a break when Sepp Straka found the water on the par-three 11th, offsetting his own errant tee shot moments earlier), the World No. 9 accomplished what he set out to do, overtaking Scottie Scheffler for the overall points lead with two tournaments remaining on this year’s PGA schedule. For Zalatoris, who celebrates his 26th birthday on Tuesday, Sunday’s coronation was years in the making, the culmination of a lifetime of hard work and dedication to an unforgiving, at times soul-crushing sport that, throughout its history, has swallowed more than its fair share of bright-eyed up-and-comers.
In navigating golf’s rich tapestry of heartbreak and self-doubt, Zalatoris has arrived at the pinnacle of his profession, controlling his own destiny as the PGA heads to Delaware for this week’s BMW Championship, the second of three FedEx Cup events. Before his rise to PGA stardom, Zalatoris went viral at last year’s Masters Tournament (the green jacket would ultimately go to Hideki Matsuyama with Zalatoris finishing a close second), with many noting his resemblance to Happy Gilmore’s teenage caddy at the Waterbury Open. Taking the persona of the film’s titular character, Adam Sandler took to Twitter late Sunday night, congratulating Zalatoris on his first of hopefully many PGA victories.
Even after missing the cut at St. Jude’s, World No. 3 Rory McIlroy remains the betting favorite (+1100 on DraftKings Sportsbook) to win this week’s BMW Championship at Wilmington Country Club, with Zalatoris, Jon Rahm, Tony Finau and last year’s FedEx Cup Champion Patrick Cantlay all at +1400 odds.
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