Will Zalatoris was having an up-and-down day through 13 holes Friday at the Genesis Invitational. Up to that point, he had made three birdies and four bogeys and sat at 4-under for the championship.
But his round changed for the better at the 184-yard par-3 14th.
He recorded an ace!
His shot sent the crowd into an absolute frenzy, as it elicited the loudest roar Riviera Country Club had heard all week.
“I think it was 180 pin back into the wind and we were just trying to hit it [a 7-iron] right in the middle of that gap between the two bunkers,” Zalatoris, who now has 10 aces, explained.
“I just pulled it by about 10 feet, and it landed perfectly on the fringe and killed it. Lucky to go in. It was a nice little bonus.”
But Zalatoris got more than a bump up the leaderboard. He will receive a brand-new Genesis GV80, thanks to his lucky shot. His caddy, Joel Stock, receives a brand new vehicle, too, as the looper will drive home an Electrified GV70 thanks to his player’s hole-in-one.
Zalatoris’ hole-in-one Friday marks the second time he has made an ace during his PGA Tour career, per PGA Tour Communications. His first came on the 7th hole at Winged Foot during the first round of the 2020 U.S. Open. At that point in time, Zalatoris was a virtual unknown to most golf fans.
He won in Colorado on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier that summer, thus earning him a spot in the U.S. Open a few months later. If you recall, COVID-19 postponed the U.S. Open from June to late September.
Zalatoris went on to tie for 6th that week, his first top-10 finish in a major championship. Since then, the former Wake Forest Demon Deacon has recorded five top-10 finishes in majors, including solo second finishes at the 2021 Masters and the 2022 PGA Championship.
Zalatoris lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff at Southern Hills that year. A month later, he finished one stroke behind Matt Fitzpatrick at the 2022 U.S. Open at Brookline.
This week, Zalatoris’ hole-in-one has vaulted him back into contention again. He currently sits at 6-under par through 14 holes, three shots behind leaders Jason Day and Luke List as of this writing.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
