One year ago to the day, Will Zalatoris underwent a microdiscectomy to repair a herniated disc in his back.
But what made matters worse for Zalatoris was that his operation came on the same day as the third round of the 2023 Masters Tournament.
This year, however, Zalatoris, with a healthy back, played the back nine at Augusta National alongside Tiger Woods early Monday morning.
“[Tiger] has really helped me a lot with the rehab of coming back from my surgery,” Zalatoris explained Monday.
Less than forty-eight hours later, Zalatoris had the operation, performed by the same surgeon who performed a microdiscectomy on Woods in 2015.
In the following months, Woods provided Zalatoris with valuable support, often reaching out to see how the 26-year-old was handling his recovery.
After this amount of time how do you feel?’” Woods and Zalatoris then crossed paths at a charity event in October, roughly six months after the conclusion of The Masters—and Zalatoris’ operation.
He’s moving as well as he can be,” Zalatoris said of Woods.
Will Zalatoris had a microdiscectomy one year ago today to fix a herniated disc in his back.
The fact that Zalatoris’ surgery coincided with the 2023 Masters Tournament’s third round, however, only served to worsen his situation.
This year, though, Zalatoris played the back nine at Augusta National early on Monday morning with Tiger Woods thanks to a healthy back.
“[Tiger] has really helped me a lot with my recovery from my surgery,” Zalatoris said on Monday.
As a result, it’s always special to be here, but today was especially special considering the past year I’ve had. “.
About twenty minutes prior to his first-round tee time, Zalatoris felt something pop on the driving range. Having to pull back, he knew something was off.
Zalatoris had the procedure less than 48 hours later, carried out by the same physician who did Woods’ microdiscectomy in 2015.
Woods gave Zalatoris invaluable support in the months that followed, frequently checking in to see how the 26-year-old was progressing with his recuperation.
Zalatoris clarified, “It was more like, ‘Hey, how you feeling? You feel this? You feel that?’ The patience game is really hard.”.
“He’d experienced far more than I had. The surgeons are essentially the same team, so it’s just a matter of saying, “Hey, after this amount of time, how do you feel? After this amount of time, how do you feel?”.
Then, in October, about six months after The Masters—and Zalatoris’ surgery—Woods and Zalatoris met again at a charity function.
I guess I wasn’t up to hitting more than irons when I spent some time hitting the range with him, Zalatoris continued.
I had a brief conversation with him regarding my golf swing. I still had some residuals at the time, but after about seven months, I felt completely healed. It’s just a matter of comprehending the procedure and realizing that, technically, even if a doctor certifies 12 weeks, it’s longer because we’re aiming to compete and win at the greatest level. “.
It was at the Hero World Challenge that Zalatoris made his competitive comeback and Woods made his comeback as a professional golfer.
Following the third round of competition in 2023, the 15-time major champion withdrew from The Masters as well, citing an ankle and foot injury.
Woods is back, though, and he appears well.
He gave a terrific performance today. There was some chirping as he twice outpaced me. You know, he looks amazing. Zalatoris remarked of Woods, “He’s moving as well as he can be.”.
“Considering all he’s been through, his level of skill at swinging the bat is truly remarkable. “.
