TULSA, Okla. – Will Zalatoris may not have captured the Wanamaker Trophy Sunday afternoon, but he isn’t feeling dejected after another runner-up finish in a major championship.
In fact, his play at Southern Hills resulted in his fifth top-10 in eight career starts in major championships, including a runner-up finish at the 2021 Masters.
So what is it about majors that brings out the best in Zalatoris?
“We’ve only got four a year and I think it’s been a dream of mine to win a major since I was a little kid,” Zalatoris said after his playoff loss to Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship. “It’s never going to be world No. 1 or anything like that. It’s been to win a major.”
It’s not as if Zalatoris handed victory to Thomas on a silver platter.
The playoff was a three-hole aggregate session beginning on the reachable par-5 13th before moving to the drivable par-4 17th and ultimately finishing on the difficult par-4 18th hole. Zalatoris played the three holes in 1 under par, assuming we’re willing to concede his par putt on the final hole, which was never struck after Thomas secured the title.
Full-field scores from the PGA Championship
Perhaps the most impressive thing Zalatoris did Sunday – aside from getting up-and-down from a cart path – was hole two 8-foot putts at Nos. 17 and 18 in regulation to get into the playoff.
“I always felt like I was one, two, three back and then once I saw Mito hit in the water on 18, I know that putt that I was going to have on 18 was probably to get into a playoff,” Zalatoris said. “So I will bottle that putt on 18 for the future.”
Despite coming up just short once again at a major, Zalatoris continued to sound confident about what’s to come.
“I know I’m going to get one,” he said. “Just a matter of time.”