WILL ZALATORIS, who won his first PGA Tour event earlier this month, has withdrawn from the season-ending Tour Championship due to a back injury.
There are no replacements in play-off events meaning Shane Lowry, who finished one spot away from qualification in the season-long FedEx Cup standings after a final round of three-under par 68 on Sunday at the BMW Championship, will not benefit.
With Zalatoris not playing, the PGA Tour have confirmed that only 29 players will tee off at East Lake this week.
“If all 29 players complete 72 holes at East Lake, Zalatoris will finish No. 30 on the FedExCup,” said the PGA Tour today.
“The 30th position will receive $500,000 in FedExCup bonus money. No other player’s starting strokes will be impacted by Zalatoris’ WD.”
Yes this is how we feel about finishing 31st on the Fedex this year…. Would love to be battling it out in Atlanta this week but it wasn’t to be. Next stop @bmwpga 🇮🇪☘️ pic.twitter.com/aZ3rS8qJhG
— Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) August 23, 2022
A statement from Allen Hobbs on behalf of Will Zalatoris confirmed he suffered the back injury after hitting a tee shot last weekend.
“After Will’s withdrawal from the BMW Championship on Saturday, his medical team determined that the source of his back pain is two herniated discs.
“Unfortunately, this means that Will is unable to play this week at the Tour Championship. He is also very disappointed that he will not have the opportunity to play in next month’s Presidents Cup, where he was hoping to play for Captain Love and represent the United States.
“Will would like to thank his fans, sponsors, the Tour, and his team for all of their support. He is fully focused on getting healthy and back onto the course as soon as he is able.”
Pairings and starting times for the first round of the TOUR Championship pic.twitter.com/cguYKJZFQw
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 23, 2022
Meanwhile, in the pairings for the first round, Cameron Smith has been paired with Rory McIlroy. World number one Scottie Scheffler is drawn alongside Patrick Cantlay while Xander Schauffele is paired with Sam Burns.
Play gets underway on Thursday.
I’d say there would be some noise in Kerry if paddy tally is involved in the backroom team