Six months ago Will Zalatoris was teeing off in the WinCo Foods Open, a Korn Ferry tour event in Portland. Today he is 1 shot off the lead at the Masters, with a very real chance to win in his first attempt - something that has only happened once in the past 90 years.
Zalatoris has five Top 10 finishes so in his last 15 events so it’s getting hard to think of him as an underdog for much longer. He’s top 20 on tour in driving distance and greens-in-regulation, so he’s destined to win, and win frequently.
Justin Rose is no stranger to the Masters, nor to golf majors. At 42 years old he’s played in over 50 golf major events. But at his age winning gets harder and harder. Throw in a balky back and Rose now qualifies as an official golf underdog.
We’ll be rooting for both of these guys this weekend. They’d likely be in an even stronger position if they were wearing our golf hats, but that’s their choice.
We did enjoy watching Billy Horschel fall on his ass while playing the 13th hole with Phil Mickelson. There’s nothing quite as enjoyable as watching someone who struggles to control their temper, slip and fall, mainly because you never know what they will do in response. Unfortunately for the viewing audience we were not treated with a classic Horschel meltdown.