Eight months after back surgery, Will Zalatoris is experiencing his “rebirth.” The former world top-10 player returns to action next week. Zalatoris is finally free from the herniated disc problems that plagued him for three years.

PGA Tour Staff Writer Paul Hodowanic confirmed on X that Zalatoris will play The American Express next week. This will be his first PGA Tour start since the PGA Championship in May 2025. The 29-year-old made one start on the DP World Tour last fall at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, finishing tied for 15th.

The American Express takes place January 22-25, 2026, at La Quinta Country Club and other courses in California, featuring a $9.2 million purse for the PGA Tour event.

Will Zalatoris first had back problems during the 2022 FedExCup Playoffs. He dropped out of the BMW Championship a week after winning his first PGA Tour event at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He was in the top 10 in the world and leading the FedExCup standings when two herniated discs forced him to sit out. Zalatoris had a microdiscectomy in April 2023 after he dropped

The return comes after a prolonged battle with back issues that first surfaced during the 2022 FedExCup Playoffs. Zalatoris withdrew from the BMW Championship one week after winning his first PGA Tour event at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He was in the top 10 in the world and leading the FedExCup standings when two herniated discs forced him to sit out. He had a microdiscectomy in April 2023 after withdrawing from the Masters.

Zalatoris played in 22 tournaments in 2024, making 15 cuts and finishing in the top 10 three times. He did best at the Genesis Invitational, where he came in second.

The promising momentum didn’t last. In 2025, he played in only 11 events before his back failed again. He didn’t finish in the top 10, and his best finish was tied for 12th at The American Express. After the 2025 PGA Championship, an MRI showed that he had re-herniated two discs. In late May, Dr. Michael Duffy at the Texas Back Institute performed surgery.

This second procedure, however, brought a different outcome. “This one was almost like a rebirth, where I’m waking up feeling taller, feeling more structured in my back,” Zalatoris told the DP World Tour at Sun City. Working with physical therapist Dr. Meg McCormick, he spent considerable time adjusting his swing setup to minimize stress on his back while maintaining his ball-striking ability.

“Everything is basically taking any torque off my back as possible. I’ve always been a very bendy guy when it comes to impact, and so trying to minimize that as much as I can, but also understanding how my body works,” he explained. The rehab involved analyzing his right hip joint and its impact on his swing mechanics.

Comparing his current state to previous years, the American Golfer was blunt. He said, “I know for a few years, I would kind of just say, ‘oh, yeah, I’m doing OK, I’m doing pretty good’. But this is… if that was my 100%, this is like 150%.”

Several veterans of the sport have bounced back from career-ending injuries as well. Arguably one of the greatest professional golfers of all time, Tiger Woods had multiple injuries that almost put an end to his career. The most recent injury happened in 2021. Woods met with a fatal accident, a car crash to be specific. Following this, he had to undergo surgery on his right leg for post-traumatic arthritis. Following the surgery and rehab, Woods was able to recover and return to the golf course.

This ‘rebirth’ for Zalatoris wasn’t just physical. He also displayed a new level of candor and perspective during a recent appearance on the Fried Egg Golf podcast.

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Candid moments: Will Zalatoris gets real on podcast

During a recent appearance on the Fried Egg Golf podcast, Zalatoris addressed Rory McIlroy’s shot into Rae’s Creek at the 13th hole during last year’s Masters. Rather than shock, he felt empathy.

“So when Rory hit the wedge on 13 when he won this year, and he hit it in the water, I didn’t want to say I could see that happening because that just sounds like such a j*****s comment to say, but I’ve done that. I’ve totally done that,” Zalatoris admitted.

His reaction stemmed from personal experience on that exact hole at Augusta National. “I know that feeling where the ball just glances off the face, and I’m like, oh no, that’s short and right. I was just laughing watching that because all of us were feeling for him in that moment. I have literally done that on that exact hole.”

Zalatoris’s perspective is particularly insightful given his own impressive record at Augusta National. He is one of only four players in the history of the tournament to finish in the top 10 in his first three Masters appearances. The others are Paul Runyan, Ralph Guldahl, and Jordan Spieth. His knowledge of what the course required made his response to McIlroy’s mistake both genuine and helpful, showing how close the best golfers are to winning.