Why Will Zalatoris was ‘not too thrilled’ with what happened during his first round 67 at the Valero
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images Will Zalatoris has experienced an absolute nightmare with injuries over the past two years, so his first round 67 at the Valero Texas Open would have been an extremely welcome one. Zalatoris was one of the more talented young players to emerge onto the PGA Tour when he burst onto the scene seven years ago now. However, the 29-year-old’s body has caused him all sorts of issues, with his back proving to be particularly problematic.
Zalatoris underwent back surgery for the second time in 2025, and he ended up playing only 11 PGA Tour events that year. Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images He has only made 14 PGA Tour starts since the beginning of the 2025 season. Zalatoris has not yet qualified for The Masters , but a win at The Valero Texas Open would get him in the field at Augusta National.
Will Zalatoris speaks out after his first round 67 at the Valero Zalatoris spoke to reporters after posting a round of five-under-par in San Antonio on Thursday morning. The 29-year-old was asked how he feels about his game after shooting an opening round 67 at TPC San Antonio. “ Really good, “ Zalatoris admitted.
“ Not too thrilled with kind of how I hit it coming in until I hit that dart on 9. This is just, it’s constantly learning. Every round I play I’m picking up on something.
“ I think I’ve only played eight competitive PGA TOUR rounds and then 12 rounds in total since I went to South Africa. The sample size is still really small. “ I think the part that’s hard too is when you’re on a major medical, you don’t get to really pick your tournaments.