MEMPHIS, Tenn — The FedEx St. Jude Championship is a month away at TPC Southwind, but Memphis' signature event will be missing its reigning champion on the course.
Will Zalatoris, last year’s champion, will not get a chance at recreating another tour win in Memphis. He's rehabbing a microdiscectomy to relieve pain from his herniated discs in his back and is aiming for an October return to the game.
"It's so hard," Zalatoris said. "Having to be told, 'Hey, only go walk two miles,' or like, 'You can only chip for 30 minutes.' It's driving me insane, so I'm definitely looking forward to getting back out,"
Zalatoris still relives the moment he won in 2022 and the iconic playoff shot he hit to win it.
"It was really cool. I went back and recreated the shot on the 11. Shockingly, I got it on land. I didn't think there's a chance at all that was gonna happen," Zalatoris said.
When Zalatoris tees off again, golf could look a little different. The tentative deal between the PGA Tour and LIV golf is still early on in its negotiations to become one company. The joint venture frustrates many, golfers included.
Zalatoris has been working closely with the business side of the PGA Tour during his rehab. He said golf’s best days are still ahead.
"The only thing that this framework agreement does is it gets rid of litigation," Zalatoris said. "And from here until the end of this year, it's our tour administration's job to go get a deal done and do what's right by us and make sure that we're playing on the best tour that’s possible."
Once an agreement between the two golf tours is agreed upon, golfers from both sides will presumably be playing together again.
"As much as I disagree with some of the guys and the decisions that they made, I also think that once we get everyone back under the same roof again and we're all competing like we were, it will be better than anything that we've ever had in the past," Zalatoris said.
The FedEx St. Jude Championship will be played August 9-13 at TPC Southwind.