Tour Championship: After pulling out of the season-ending Tour Championship due to a back issue, Will Zalatoris will forfeit the opportunity to contend for the FedExCup title.
Prior to climbing to the top of the FedExCup standings by winning the FedEx St Jude Championship earlier this month, Zalatoris had two play-off losses on the PGA Tour in 2022, including one to Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship.
The 26-year-old tried to continue playing after he tweaked his back on the third hole of his third round at Wilmington Country Club at the BMW Championship last week but withdrew after the following hole. He was four strokes behind the lead at the time.
Zalatoris had intended to compete at the Tour Championship, where he would have started third in the standings and three strokes behind FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler. However, he will now miss both the Presidents Cup and the season finale due to two herniated discs.
Allen Hobbs issued the following statement on behalf of Will Zalatoris: “After Will withdrew from the BMW Championship on Saturday, his medical team found that two ruptured discs are the cause of his back pain.
“Unfortunately, this means that Will is unable to play this week at the Tour Championship. He is also very disappointed that he will not have the opportunity to play in next month’s Presidents Cup, where he was hoping to play for Captain [Davis] Love and represent the United States.
“Will would like to thank his fans, sponsors, the Tour, and his team for all of their support. He is fully focused on getting healthy and back onto the course as soon as he is able.”
Assuming the other 29 players in the field at East Lake play all 72 holes, Zalatoris’ withdrawal puts him in 30th place overall in the FedExCup standings, earning him $500,000 in bonus money.
The remaining 29 players’ opening strokes won’t be altered, thus Scheffler will start the round with a two-shot advantage over BMW Championship victor and current FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay.
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