Utopian is defined as modelled on or aiming for a state in which everything is perfect.
Will Zalatoris revealed he, like his fellow pros, harbours the goal that men’s professional golf will one day get back to perfect.
It’s a month shy of six since the world’s best golfers, and that includes LIV golfers, last teed-up in a major championship.
Disappointingly, it’s been a month shy of 18 since super-talented Zalatoris last contested a major and that was finishing top-30 in the 2022 Open Championship after finishing runner-up in both the 2022 US Open and losing a three-hole aggregate play-off in the PGA Championship.
A month following The Open he captured a maiden Tour event at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Zalatoris, 27, was then side-lined with a back injury for the final few months of 2022 but then in the glare of the 2023 Masters the injury resurfaced forcing him out a day prior to the year’s first major. By Saturday, he was receiving microdiscectomy surgery.
After seven long months of rehab, Zalatoris returned to competition golf last December at the Hero World Challenge and this week the current World No. 34 tees-up in the Arnold Palmer Invitational – his fifth event of the new 2024 PGA Tour season.
And one of the questions Zalatoris faced ahead of this week’s whopping $US 20m Bay Hill event is how much is he looking forward to a reuniting of the men’s game, as we will see for a least four days early next month at Augusta National.
“You know, it kind of is what it is. You see what Joaquin’s (Niemann) has done this year, and he’s 73rd in the world,” said Zalatoris.
“I’m not a guy who is on the policy board or involved with those rankings, but the guy’s played some really good golf. I think, you know, having to get a special exemption from Augusta, you know, it’s just, there’s some really good players, and there’s some guys that have gone around the world and played really good golf and I think that’s something that, once we get to the majors, it will be really fun to have us all back together.
“But, I know that that’s kind of the utopian goal for all of us right now is to have the best players in the world play week in, week out.
“I love this week in general, because we got the best players on the PGA Tour, and we’ve got guys that obviously really care about it, but I also think we’ll see what happens going forward. I don’t have the fix for it. I know some guys have voiced their opinions on it. I like staying out of that stuff. Right now, it’s in an interesting position, I’ll leave it at that”.
Zalatoris tees-up in the best of form having finished runner-up in his last event at the Genesis Invitational, and now this his second ‘Signature’ event in succession.
“The signature events are definitely different”, he said.
“Seventy guys in the field, it feels like, I mean, I came out yesterday to practice for a couple hours and it feels like no one’s here. Just in terms of the, you’re used to having the 120, 130, whatever it is, and, you know, so it’s bizarre, actually, a little bit, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
“But then, once you get to Thursday, it’s just so ultra competitive, and I love that feeling of it. Yeah, having 50 less guys, there’s no question about it, that’s a different feel, for sure. Especially when these events that I’ve played for the last three, four years, you’re used to having a pretty large amount of players.
“I’ve enjoyed it so far. I’ve only played in one, but it’s kind of fun when you walk up and everybody you see is pretty much a top player.”
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