Will Zalatoris (back) to return at The American Express

Field Level Media|published: Sat 17th January, 11:42 2026

May 16, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Will Zalatoris lines up a put on the fifteenth hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Will Zalatoris will return to competition next week at The American Express in La Quinta, Calif.

A former world top-10 player, Zalatoris is eight months removed from back surgery. He reportedly has been plagued by back issues for much of the past three years.

Zalatoris, 29, competed at the PGA Championship in May and also on the DP World Tour last fall at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.

He enjoyed considerable success prior to his back issues, including six top-10 finishes in major championships from 2020-22 and earning his first PGA Tour victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2022.

Zalatoris, however, had to withdraw from the following week's event with a back injury that has nagged him ever since, causing him to play in just 41 events after his breakthrough win.

In April 2023 he had surgery to remove a portion of a herniated disk that was pressing on a spinal nerve, and last May he had surgery to address two herniated disks in his back.

--Field Level Media

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