NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
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Will Zalatoris announced his presence with a spirited runner-up showing at last year’s Masters, and a few recent equipment changes have him trending to be in contention once again this week.
It all starts with a significant driver adjustment. Zalatoris had been using a relatively short, 44.5-inch 9-degree Titleist TSi3 driver a season ago in an effort to be more accurate, but confidence in his golf swing and an added 15 pounds to his slender frame led to the implementation of a longer, 45.62-inch Fujikura Speeder TR 661 shaft before his first start in 2022. Zalatoris worked with Titleist tour rep J.J. Van Wezenbeeck to lighten the shaft weight and move into an 8-degree TSi3 head, lowering launch and reducing spin.
Zalators is one of the least accurate drivers on the PGA Tour, ranking No. 198 in fairways hit this season, but that is often a moot point in the modern professional game. The Wake Forest product ranked No. 31 in strokes gained driving a season ago and is now up to No. 8 this season, becoming a truly elite force with the big dog.
Zalatoris has also recently added a Titleist T200 3-iron, a forgiving club that has allowed him to gain height on longer approach shots. He ranks No. 2 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach, up from No. 7 a season ago. One sign his new 3-iron is working is that Zalatoris ranks No. 8 in approaches beyond 200 yards, a critical skill to possess on Augusta’s scorable yet daunting par 5s.
But the real switch that has everyone in the gear world talking is about Zalatoris’ putter. It’s no secret that his putting has been a victory-preventing bugaboo. Zalatoris ranks No. 168 in strokes gained putting this season and carries a putrid 58 percent hole-out rate (No. 202 on tour) on putts of 4-8 feet. His putting method on shorter attempts has sometimes featured a visibly uncomfortable looping stroke where the putter jerks inside and awkwardly reroutes to reach impact.
Zalatoris is well aware of this issue, and it’s possible the solution is already here. He went on a putting tear in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, particularly in his match against Viktor Hovland, and explained that a switch to a more face-balanced putter head before the tournament was the difference. He is still using an arm-lock style in his Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11 prototype while implementing a claw grip – concerning, given that he is only 25 years old and already fishing in the barrel of last-resort putting methods – but this latest adjustment helps prevent him from coming too far inside on the backswing.
“The inconsistency was driving me nuts,†Zalatoris said in Austin. “Having days of plus-four (strokes gained) and other days of minus-three. (This putter) is basically the same, just a little bit different, but just so much easier.
“I literally didn't hit a putt that wasn't end-over-end. So obviously playing as good as I did, but even the putts that just barely lipped out or barely missed, every single putt had a chance. I think that's something that I'm taking kind of more out of than even the putts that I made.â€
Could it all add up to Zalatoris getting back into the mix over the weekend at Augusta National? If it does, we’ll see how much faith he has in his new wand. It also would be historical if he were to go on to win. The last player to win the Masters without having previously won on the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour was Claude Harmon, in 1948.
Sean Fairholm
