Recently crowned as the winner of this year’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, American golfer, Will Zalatoris, must have been on cloud nine. Coming into the second playoff event at the BMW Championship, he was expected to dominate the proceedings to gain a fast start. However, it seems he hasn’t returned from the euphoria, missing a simple putt in the first round of the championship that has fans scratching their heads.

What did Will Zalatoris do wrong?

In the first round of the championship, Zalatoris finished tied at 34th place alongside the likes of Hideki Matsuyama and Lucas Herbert, finishing the day on 1-under par. Expected to breeze through the opening rounds after a breakthrough season, Zalatoris initially struggled at the Wilmington Country Club.

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After making considerable headway by hitting 3 under-par holes in a row, he was 2-under for the round. That’s when catastrophe struck.

At the 446-yard par-4 18th hole, Zalatoris got on the greens in 2 shots but shockingly missed a par putt from 4 feet, finishing with a 3-putt bogey. This moved Zalatoris back to 1-under to conclude a disappointing day. His miss, which seemed a piece of cake on the screen, was widely mocked on social media. Here is a selection of these reactions.

Is Zalatoris bad at putting?

Apparently, the answer is no. While Zalatoris has missed some crucial putts in his brief career, his performance at the greens is commendable. Before the tournament began, he had never missed a putt from 3 yards out since turning pro in 2018. His record from 4 yards out wasn’t bad either, holing out 89.52% of these putts.

Crucially, all these stats were on the greens, arguably Zalatoris’ weak point. His strengths lie in range-hitting, where it’s safe to say – he is elite. He’s 3rd on tour in approach putt performance, leaving his ball exactly two feet on average. This helps him cover up any weaknesses inside the greens. Interestingly, he is 18th in Putts per Greens in Regulation (GIR), which is an asset for a player who ranks inside the top 10 in GIR. GIR refers to a ball being on the green in a defined number of strokes (usually ‘par minus 2 strokes’).

What happened elsewhere at the BMW Championship?

At the completion of the first round, Keegan Bradley, ranked 43rd in the PGA Tour, led outright with a score of 7-under par. He is followed by Adam Scott, who is behind by one stroke. Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry, and Harold Varner III, all at 5-under par, jointly hold the third position.

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