Despite his optimism, this is a concerning development for Zalatoris' career. The American missed eight months of action after undergoing a microdiscectomy procedure in April 2023. He returned in December 2023 and finished last by nine strokes at the Hero World Challenge. Zalatoris started trending up at the beginning of the 2024 season. He finished T2 at the Genesis Invitational, T4 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and T9 at The Masters, but he didn't record another top-20 finish until the FedEx St. Jude Championship four months later. In 2025, Zalatoris finished inside the top 25 in four of his first six worldwide starts. Since then, though, he's been one of the worst players on the PGA Tour. Zalatoris missed the cut at The Masters and the PGA Championship before feeling discomfort in his back and undergoing an MRI. Even before this injury update, Zalatoris wasn't the same player he was early in his career. The Wake Forest product had one of the best starts to his major championship career in golf history, recording eight top-10 finishes and three runner-ups in his first nine major starts. He's now missed the cut in four straight major appearances. Zalatoris, who ranks 84th in the Official World Golf Ranking, will likely fall out of the top 100 by the time he's able to return to the course. He faces a long road to recovery after a second back surgery, and he'll need to find his form quickly once he returns to resurrect his career.