Will Zalatoris withdrew from the 2023 Masters on Thursday due to a back injury. This marks the second consecutive withdrawal for the former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year as he was an early exit in his last start out at the WGC-Dell Match Play.
With Zalatoris' removal from the field, following that of Kevin Na earlier in the day, there are now 86 golfers remaining in competition for the green jacket.
Zalatoris' back injury first occurred at the 2022 BMW Championship, the week after his first PGA Tour victory at the WGC-St. Jude Invitational. Taking the rest of the summer and fall off to recover, Zalatoris returned to action at the Tournament of Champions and appeared 100% healthy when he closed with an 8-under 64 at the Genesis Invitational.
The former Wake Forest product was set to make his third Masters appearance with aspirations of emulating his first two. In his first try at Augusta National in 2021, Zalatoris nearly became the first debutant since Fuzzy Zoeller to win the Masters; however, he ultimately fell short to Hideki Matsuyama. Zalatoris followed that with a T6 finish in last year's tournament.
Zalatoris has been a revelation in major championship play. Losing in playoff to Justin Thomas at the 2022 PGA Championship and nearly forcing another playoff with Matt Fitzpatrick at the 2022 U.S. Open, Zalatoris was pegged by many to don the green jacket come Sunday. Unfortunately, the 26-year-old will now need to wait a year for his next crack.
Watch all four rounds of the 2023 Masters starting Thursday with Masters Live as we follow the best golfers in the world throughout Augusta National with Featured Groups, check in at the famed Amen Corner and see leaders round the turn on holes 15 & 16. Watch live on CBSSports.com, the CBS Sports App and Paramount+.
