Will Zalatoris won’t mind one little bit if The Country Club wakes up in a bad mood again on Sunday, cold and grumpy and ready to defend its reputation in the final round of the 122nd U.S. Open.
The 25-year-old old San Francisco native loves his golf tough as evidenced by a best of Saturday 67 to snare a share of the -4 lead in the penultimate major of the year with Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick.
Zalatoris’ three-under loop was a red-numbered beacon on a bleak day in Brookline, Massachusetts where only seven players snuck under par (Fitzpatrick carded a 78) and the scoring average was a whopping three and a half strokes over par.
How good? Rory McIlroy, who signed for a 73 and will start Sunday three back, described the 67 as “unbelieeeeevable”. Zalatoris couldn’t help but agree.
“Felt like I shot a 61,” he said. “Yeah, that was brutal.
“I think it took a lot of discipline today. I mean, we didn’t aim at a single flag even with some wedges, just because you really only have a foot or two to deal with on these greens in some situations.”
The play of @WillZalatoris in majors can only be described one way – WOW. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/RyDlf4lgHm
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 18, 2022
That was especially the case in the Brookline breeze where every shot on every corner of the course was impacted by the wind.
The trick now for Zalatoris is to transform his unbelievable record in the majors – five top-10s including a pair of runner-up finishes in eight starts – into a ninth-time lucky title.
Sunday promises to be super stressful for all the contenders but Zalatoris is at least talking the talk.
“My game is in a great spot. I’m in a great headspace,” he said.
“I love playing hard courses. Coming off the Korn Ferry Tour—where you have to shoot 25 under every week—I like that par is a good score. You can say this about every U.S. Open venue, but it is especially true this week. You just have to hit as many greens as you can.”
There must be some mental scar tissue to overcome, if not for his runner-up finish to Hideki Matsuyama at the 2021 Masters then surely after his playoff loss to Justin Thomas at last month’s PGA Championship?
Is Sunday the day for @WillZalatoris? pic.twitter.com/ArBpiTRrEW
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 19, 2022
“Losing the playoff at Southern Hills hurt,” admits Zalatoris. “By no means was I happy about that. The great thing is JT [Justin Thomas] played the playoff holes almost perfectly. He birdied the two holes you are supposed to birdie. And he made par on the toughest hole on the course. You have to tip your cap to him. I don’t have any regrets about any of the decisions I made. I played 65 really good holes and seven mediocre to bad ones on Saturday.”
The key on Sunday, at least according to Zalatoris, is not to get too up or down if The Country Club bites early.
“If I make an early bogey or two, I won’t change the game plan,” he said. “I don’t try to get extra aggressive because that’s how you make a mess of it. The PGA gave me a lot of belief and confidence that I belong in this situation. There’s a difference in thinking it and then actually being in the situation and believing it. I’ve put myself in this situation a few times in my career, and obviously have to go out and get it tomorrow.”
