Tiger Woods ‘played great’ in Masters practise round: Will Zalatoris

Will Zalatoris has more in common with Tiger Woods than he used to.

They may still be 15 major championships apart from one another, but Zalatoris said Woods “really helped” him get through his rehab after undergoing back surgery last year. Woods has a well-documented history of surgeries of his own, of course, including his back.

Woods and Zalatoris played a nine-hole practise round at Augusta National on Monday morning as they prepared for this week's Masters.

“He played great today,” Zalatoris said. “He out-drove me a few times so there was some chirping going on.

“He looks great, he's moving as well as he can be. With everything he's gone through, it's pretty amazing to see how good he's swinging it.”

Zlatoris said the pair discussed their similar injuries.

“It's more [about], 'Hey, how are you feeling, do you feel this, do you feel that?'” Zalatoris said of Woods lending support.

“The patience game is really hard. Obviously he had gone through way more than what I had.

“Having the same surgeons, kind of the same team, you know, just having the conversation I guess about, 'Hey, after this amount of time how do you feel?'

“I think with the success I had had in majors and how close I've been and how driven I've been to get it and then having a setback, having the exact same injury. It's funny because it's not so much of the answers that he's [given] or the questions I've asked; it's been more the thought-provoking questions he's asked me that has really been the stuff that has got me back to where I am now.”

The concern now with Woods is his left ankle. Longtime friend Notah Begay III, now an NBC Sports commentator, said last week Woods has “zero mobility” in his left ankle along with lower back “challenges” stemming from his 2023 ankle surgery.

For Zalatoris, this will be his first major start since 2022 after he had to drop out of the 2023 Masters for back surgery. Though he's yet to win, Zalatoris collected six top-10s in majors from 2020 to 22, including three second-place finishes.

“I feel great,” he said. “This is the best I've felt [for some time].

“I think the best way to put it is I kept thinking I was at 100% as I've come back and each month I've picked up a little more speed, had a little more endurance.

“I got to the point where I felt like I can push harder in the gym and practise, but you just have to be patient. I am still only 27. I have a long career ahead of me and need to look at the long-term rather than the short-term.”

Field Level Media