Will Zalatoris is living every golfer’s nightmare. After missing cuts at the Masters and PGA Championship and lackluster finishes at the Truist Championship and RBC Heritage, his 2025 season has been a rollercoaster ride, marked by a couple of withdrawals and a string of unimpressive performances. Given this, it’s no surprise he decided to sit out The Memorial Tournament for no known reason. But now we do, and let’s just say his back is bearing the brunt of it – literally.

In his latest Instagram post, Zalatoris revealed something that has left everyone shocked and upset. The golfer shared a health update, dropping a bombshell about his back issues that have been plaguing him this spring. “This spring, I started feeling some discomfort and instability in my back that progressively got worse,” he wrote, explaining how the pain had been building up over time.

After the PGA Championship, an MRI revealed the extent of the damage — two re-herniated discs. Zalatoris underwent surgery with Dr. Michael Duffy at the Texas Back Institute, and thankfully, the procedure went smoothly. “I’m happy to say that I woke up feeling good and excited about my long-term back health,” he said, looking forward to his recovery and return to the game. With gratitude to his team, friends, and family, Zalatoris is now focused on getting back after it, promising to catch up with everyone in the fall. “Time to focus on my recovery and get back after it. Thank you to my team, friends, and family for being there for me throughout this journey. Looking forward to seeing everyone in the fall!!”

Well, if you know Zalatoris, you know that these back issues are nothing new for the golfer. It all started back in 2022 when Will Zalatoris first injured his back at the BMW Championship, just a week after his breakthrough win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The injury forced him to take time off to rehab and make significant swing changes to alleviate pressure on his back.

Despite a promising return at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions with a T11 finish, Zalatoris’s road to recovery was far from smooth. He managed only one top-10 finish before undergoing season-ending surgery in April 2023, which kept him out of action until last December’s Hero World Challenge. And the golfer was determined to change that. And change he did, until, of course, his hard work felt like it was all in vain.

Will Zalatoris worked really hard for the 2025 season

Last year, Will Zalatoris decided to take the unconventional route to improve his golf game – he hit the gym and bulked up by a whopping 15 pounds of muscle. The 28-year-old American golfer had been dealing with a string of injuries, including back surgery, and was determined to add some oomph to his swing. “I picked up 15 pounds of muscle this off-season. I absolutely busted my tail trying to get my speed back, really get better with the broomstick [putter] and it has been good,” Zalatoris said, sounding like a man who’d just finished a marathon.

He even claimed to have eaten a staggering 4,500 calories a day, with 200 grams of protein to boot. But, in a cruel twist of fate, his latest injury has all but derailed his hard work, ruling him out of the remaining two majors of the year and, effectively, the Ryder Cup. Talk about a major bummer.

Zalatoris had been on a roll, finishing second behind Dustin Johnson at the re-arranged 2021 Masters, and then adding another two runners-up finishes in back-to-back Majors in 2022. But injuries have been his nemesis, forcing him to withdraw from the Rocket Mortgage Classic and undergo cortisone shots just to get by. “Having to get cortisone shots just to get by was a lot… I didn’t really want to spend the rest of my career doing that,” he said, sounding like a man who’s had enough. So, will Mr. Showtime be able to bounce back from this latest setback and finally get his career back on track? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!