Protecting the lead: Justin Rose leads after Round 3 at BMW Championship

ORLANDO, Fla. – In terms of talent, Will Zalatoris is traveling at the speed of a bullet these days, a man whose strike just sounds different, and a tad more pure, than most others. A slender young man built for tough golf courses and big stages, Zalatoris got off to a fast start in the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard on Thursday, shooting 4-under 68 in friendly scoring conditions at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. At 25, he has yet to win, but with the TOUR in a current run of first-time winners (four in the last five events), it would seem logical that Zalatoris might be a good candidate to join the club. He had his shot on the West Coast, missing a putt to win on the 72nd hole, and eventually losing in a playoff to Luke List at the Farmers Insurance Open. The good news? Zalatoris would be a young man who tends to view the glass as half full. He didn’t collect a trophy at Torrey Pines, but he hardly departed empty-handed. “Honestly, if you even want to call the failure, I guess, of not winning Torrey, it’s going to propel me to win more, because I learned so much about myself,” Zalatoris said. He went off the back nine early Thursday, the wind down, and, after making bogey at the water-guarded, par-4 11th hole, made birdies on five of his next seven. He made a key save on No. 1 after making the turn, laying up to 65 yards after his drive found thick rough, and getting that up and down for par. If he’s to be the last man standing on Thursday here at Arnie’s Place, he has a difficult man to chase in Rory McIlroy, who Thursday shot 7-under 65. McIlroy, the 2018 API champion, made his day appear rather effortless, making six birdies and an eagle. The course is expected to dry out and get firmer over the next few days. The tougher the test becomes, the more likely that Zalatoris is a name that might be sticking around. “It’s going to be fun,” said Zalatoris, the reigning Arnold Palmer Award winner as the TOUR’s Rookie of the Year. “This weekend is going to be tough. … I love it. I love playing firm, fast, hard, (and) rough is up. This is probably the closest to a U.S. Open, especially for a regular TOUR event.” Of course, Zalatoris burst onto the scene with a T6 in the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. He tied for 10th at Bay Hill a year ago, a nice week that helped to fuel a quality dash – he made seven starts in seven weeks as he tried to break into, and stay in, the world’s top 50. That got him to Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters, where, under the brightest lights, he stuck around to the very end, losing to Hideki Matsuyama by a shot. Zalatoris is a terrific fit for the API because he is one of the very best ballstrikers on TOUR – first in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green – and Bay Hill can be a place where ballstrikers can separate themselves from the pack. Zalatoris is highly effective out of the rough, too, because of his angle of attack and his strength to gouge the ball out of it. Josh Gregory, who coaches Zalatoris with his short game and putting, considers the Texan by way of California to be an old-school throwback. Two of Zalatoris’ mentors at home near Dallas are Lee Trevino and Lanny Wadkins, a couple of Hall of Famers who were elite ballstrikers in their respective eras. “All the young kids today are kind of robotic, super into Trackman, super into numbers, super into (swing) positions,” said Gregory, who has worked with Zalatoris for three years. “That’s not really him. He’s an artist, and he knows how to hit shots. He’s got more of the Tiger mentality back in the day of the ‘nine’ shots. (Woods would practice after rounds hitting shots through nine different windows – low cut, high draw, etc.) He (Will) can hit it out of any different window, he can curve it, he can shape it any way. That’s how he sees and plays the game, as an artist.” He can hit it out of any different window, he can curve it, he can shape it any way. That’s how he sees and plays the game, as an artist. Zalatoris’ runner-up showing at Torrey Pines was sandwiched by a T7 (The American Express) and T26 (Genesis Invitational). (He also tangled with a bout of Covid-19 after Farmers.) Zalatoris said it’s flattering that people expect him to win soon, and he just watched his pal Scottie Scheffler do it (Waste Management Phoenix Open), but he also is mature enough, and smart enough, to stay patient as he chases it. “Every week is just trying to get better with my golf game, whether it’s any aspect of it,” Zalatoris said. “If I keep doing the day-to-day stuff like I have been and keep asking questions of how I can get better, I know I’ll win. The first win will come, and I know that, if I keep putting myself in that position, the more comfortable I’ll be, and I know I’ll get one soon.” Trying to win at Arnold Palmer’s place would be extra special. Zalatoris attended Wake Forest University, Palmer’s alma mater, on a coveted Arnold Palmer Scholarship. As he visited potential schools and first heard he would be offered “the AP,” the former U.S. Junior Amateur champion really didn’t know what it was. When he discovered its importance, his college decision was a done deal. He would be a Demon Deacon. Zalatoris framed the letter that Palmer wrote congratulating him, and it’s on the wall at his parents’ house. A trophy one day from the API? Why, that would be a nice keepsake, too. All a matter of time, those around him say. “He’s so wise. His golf IQ is off the charts, understanding how to play the game, how to manage his game,” Gregory said. “He plays as smart as anybody, hits it to the right spots, hits it hole-high, 15 feet right or left. He doesn’t short-side himself a lot. My goal is to kind of challenge him with his wedging to keep reining in the targets. “When he’s got it, pedal down. I think he shot 61 twice this year. The wins are coming.”

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HOW THEY QUALIFIED Winners of the Arnold Palmer Inv. & the Memorial (Last 3 Years) Matt Every Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Steven Bowditch Alex Cejka Jim Furyk Smylie Kaufman Davis Love III Hunter Mahan Ben Martin Troy Merritt Brian Stuard Career Money Exemption Carl Pettersson Sponsors Exemptions – Web.com Tour Finals Matt Gilchrest Robby Shelton Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Chris Smith Omar Uresti Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Sam Burns Will Cannon Trace Crowe Wes Homan Sung Min Lee Hugo Leon Dru Love Derek Rende PGA Club Professional Champion – 6 Events Rich Berberian, Jr. PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Mike Genovese Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedEx Cup Points List David Hearn Kyle Reifers Daniel Summerhays Ricky Barnes Chad Campbell Patrick Rodgers Patton Kizzire K.J. Choi Spencer Levin Jason Bohn Tyrone Van Aswegen Derek Fathauer Blayne Barber Brett Stegmaier Robert Garrigus Zac Blair Cameron Tringale Andrew Loupe Boo Weekley Mark Hubbard Ben Crane Shawn Stefani Seung-Yul Noh Top 125 on Prior Season’s Official Money List thru Wyndham Ken Duke Retief Goosen Chad Collins Major Medical Extension Brian Gay Ryo Ishikawa Leading Money Winner from Web.com Tour & Web.com Tour Finals Grayson Murray Top Finishers from Web.com Tour Prior Season (reordered) Dominic Bozzelli J.T. Poston Ryan Blaum Scott Stallings Brandon Hagy Cameron Percy Seamus Power Trey Mullinax Bryson DeChambeau Martin Flores Julian Etulain Richy Werenski Andres Gonzales Jonathan Randolph Ryan Brehm Joel Dahmen Tag Ridings Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano Rory Sabbatini Steven Alker Nicholas Lindheim Will MacKenzie Mark Anderson Ryan Armour Brett Drewitt Brian Campbell Miguel Angel Carballo Sebastian Munoz Brad Fritsch Rick Lamb Bobby Wyatt Bobby Gates Max Homa Shane Bertsch 126 – 150 Prior Season’s FEC Points List (Reordered) Matt Jones Sam Saunders Greg Owen Chris Stroud Steve Wheatcroft Willy Wilcox Hiroshi Iwata Tom Hoge Tyler Aldridge Stuart Appleby Reorder Category – Cat. 34 thru 38 Camilo Villegas Bill Lunde Angel Cabrera Andres Romero Jonathan Byrd Mark Wilson Brendon de Jonge Y.E. Yang Dicky Pride John Merrick Charlie Wi Chesson Hadley Michael Bradley George McNeill Tim Herron Eric Axley Brendon Todd John Rollins Tommy Gainey Robert Allenby Craig Barlow Beyond 150th on Prior Season’s FEC Points List Jason Gore Jeff Overton D.J. Trahan Marc Turnesa Cameron Beckman Ted Purdy Troy Matteson Frank Lickliter II Arjun Atwal

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The ball was sitting in a pot bunker. Hunter Stewart was standing outside of it. It was a textbook example of the awkward lies that can occur on the links courses of Great Britain & Ireland. Stewart hadn't hit the ball there, but it was his job to extricate it. Maverick McNealy struck the tee shot that wound up in this trap. It was on the first hole of their first match of the Walker Cup, a competition that pits the United States' best amateurs against their peers from GB&I. "Brutal" is how McNealy described the lie Stewart faced. "I put him in some really bad spots that first day in alternate shot," McNealy recalled recently. "His first shot of the entire Walker Cup, he was standing on his head." Six years later, Stewart is still trying to help McNealy get the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible, but in a much different capacity. McNealy is in his second year on the PGA TOUR while Stewart, who has an economics degree from Vanderbilt, is in his second season working as a strategy consultant for TOUR players. Stewart's statistical analysis speaks the language of McNealy, a Northern California native who brings a Silicon Valley ethos to his career. "He's always coming up with ideas and ways to get better," Stewart said. "He innovates himself." McNealy finished 68th in the FedExCup last year. He made the cut in 17 of 23 starts, including six top-25s. A fifth-place finish at last year's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was his best of the season. The 25-year-old has four top-25s this season and is 87th in the FedExCup. McNealy has seen some of his peers enter the winner's circle before him, but he derives satisfaction from the improvement he's seen since turning pro. The son of former Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy, Maverick expressed interest in entering the business world after college. Knowing he could still get better - even after a stellar career at Stanford, where was the NCAA player of the year, won 11 times and was and a two-time Walker Cupper - was a deciding factor in turning pro. "I've been asked when do I think I wouldn't want to play golf anymore and the answer is, ‘When I don't think I can get any better, when there's no stone unturned,'" McNealy said recently. "I love the fact that there's always room to improve." Scott McNealy used to roam the hallways of Sun and ask, "If you were CEO for a day, what would you do?" Maverick does the same with his employees, conducting annual interviews where each member of his team reviews their performance and his. "I ask, ‘How did the year go? What did you do well? Where did you struggle? Is there anything you need to do your job better? And, if you were me, what do you think you would do differently on and off the golf course?" McNealy said. "My dad said one of the most important things you can do is listen and give your employees a chance to talk openly and freely." Stewart said McNealy runs his team "like a business, and he's the CEO. He's a businessman who happens to be a PGA TOUR player. "Everyone has a role, and he's made it very easy for everyone on his team to do their job to the fullest. That's great leadership on his part." McNealy's swing instructor is Butch Harmon, who helped him sort out his swing when he was struggling with his ball-striking on the Korn Ferry Tour. McNealy has had the same caddie, Travis McAllister, since turning pro. They spent two years together on the KFT before reaching the PGA TOUR. "He's very detail-oriented and probably more of a perfectionist than I am," McNealy said. Susie Meyers is McNealy's mental coach. While McNealy was recruited out of college by the largest agencies, he decided to sign with Peter Webb, who runs a one-man operation. His trainer Is Scott Norton and physical therapist Jimmy Greathouse helped him recover from a shoulder injury he suffered last year. Karen Hallstein, who was Scott McNealy's secretary, helps Maverick with his travel. And Maverick's grandfather, Paul Ingemanson, is his financial adviser. "He'll let me know if there's a $5 fee on one of my credit cards that shouldn't be there," McNealy said. "I'm still driving my mom's 2011 Ford Explorer and I have A-list preferred status on Southwest. I think a lot of my spending habits come from my grandpa." Stewart is one of the newest additions to the team. He's not the first person to parse the ShotLink data to help players save shots, but he's the only one with a top-10 finish on TOUR. Stewart finished 10th in the 2015 Mayakoba Golf Classic, just his third TOUR start as a pro. Earlier that year, he finished third in the NCAA Championship, behind only future TOUR winners Bryson DeChambeau and C.T. Pan. Stewart's pro career stalled out on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and in 2019 he decided to change careers. "I'm just trying to help them do the right thing on each shot," Stewart said. "It might not work on every shot because that's golf but the goal is to increase the probability of success." Stewart doesn't just help his players pick the right play on the course. He helps them set their schedule with events that fit their skillset, determine specific shots to focus on in practice rounds and set practice routines based on the state of their game and what an upcoming course may require. His goal is to help his clients save one stroke per tournament. That may not sound like much but it can have a huge impact on a player's season. McNealy uses the 12th hole at Detroit Golf Club, site of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, as tangible evidence of Stewart's impact. Stewart uses ShotLink to look at putts that players seem to consistently misread. In the practice rounds at Detroit GC, Stewart instructed McNealy to hit putts from a specific spot to the Sunday hole location. "When he tells me that, I know it's because guys never make that putt," McNealy said. He badly misread his first attempt but made an 18-footer on the same line when it mattered on Sunday. He finished T8, one of three top-10s last season. Stewart, a former SEC Conference Player of the Year and Kentucky native, also helps McNealy with his short game, especially with shots from the Bermudagrass common in the South. McNealy has learned to focus on shoring up his strengths instead of trying to fix every weakness. Stewart used Strokes Gained to devise a "winning formula" for McNealy, who was ninth in Strokes Gained: Putting last season. If he putts well, then he can garner a good finish by not losing strokes in Strokes Gained: Approach and avoiding penalty strokes with his driver. "I'm not in the business of asking guys to become something that they're not," Stewart said. "I think a lot of times people get bogged down in trying to become the best player in the world. The Tiger effect has skewed everyone's view of success in golf. I'm not saying we should limit what we try to do, but just because the Tigers and the Rorys of the world are winning all the time - they're great measuring sticks, but you shouldn't let that barometer of their success rob you of the joy of becoming the best player they can be." It's a journey that McNealy has enjoyed as he pursues his first PGA TOUR win.

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