Watch now: Final round of the Open 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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The PGA TOUR visits the home of the game’s greatest player for this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. A star-studded field has assembled at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, for the tournament Jack Nicklaus created more than four decades ago. This week’s winner will receive 500 FedExCup points, as well as a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR. Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama, PLAYERS winner Si Woo Kim and defending champion William McGirt are among the names that can be seen on PGA TOUR LIVE this week. PGA TOUR LIVE’s broadcast will begin at 7:30 a.m. Eastern on Thursday and Friday. It also will be available for free on Twitter from 7:30 a.m. until approximately 8:50 a.m. Three hours of Featured Holes coverage from the par-4 14th and par-3 16th will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. (Note: FedExCup ranking in parentheses) Thursday Kevin Kisner (7), Jordan Spieth (5), Justin Thomas (3): This group features three players who will likely team up at this year’s Presidents Cup. Spieth, Thomas and Kisner are Nos. 2-4, respectively, in the U.S. Team standings. The top 10 players in the standings on Sept. 4 will automatically qualify for the team that will play for Captain Steve Stricker at Liberty National Golf Club from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1. Thomas has three wins this season, while Kisner and Spieth have one win apiece. Kisner and Spieth finished 1-2 at last week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational.  Tee time: 8:26 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee Dustin Johnson (1), William McGirt (60), Phil Mickelson (40): Johnson, the FedExCup leader, is playing alongside the defending champion (McGirt) and a World Golf Hall of Famer (Mickelson). Johnson finished third at last year’s Memorial, one shot out of the playoff won by McGirt. Mickelson has three top 10s in 16 starts at Muirfield Village. Johnson also leads the U.S. Team’s Presidents Cup standings, while Mickelson ranks 16th and McGirt is 22nd. Tee time: 8:37 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Friday Rickie Fowler (10), Hideki Matsuyama (2), Jon Rahm (4): Three popular young players – Fowler is the eldest member at age 28 — highlight this group. All three of these players rank in the top 10 of the FedExCup, as well. Matsuyama, a two-time winner this season, ranks second in the standings. He could overtake Johnson for the top spot with a win this week. Rahm ranks fourth in the standings thanks to a TOUR-high seven top-10s in 14 starts, including a win at the Farmers Insurance Open and a runner-up at last week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. Fowler, the winner of THE PLAYERS Championship 2015, won The Honda Classic earlier this season. He and Matsuyama also will be likely foes at this year’s Presidents Cup. Fowler ranks fifth in the U.S. standings, while Matsuyama is second in the International Team standings. Tee time: 8:26 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Si Woo Kim (22), Jason Day (43), Adam Scott (65): These three can discuss strategy for this year’s Presidents Cup, as they’ll likely be teammates on the International squad. Day, a Muirfield Village member, leads the International Team standings, while his countryman Scott ranks third. Kim jumped to seventh in the standings after his impressive victory at THE PLAYERS Championship. Day, who was runner-up at the AT&T Byron Nelson, is looking for his first top-10 finish at the Memorial. Scott finished fourth at this event last year. Tee time: 8:37 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee.

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Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the THE PLAYERS Championship that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. THE PLAYERS Stadium Course TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, has been the host since 1982 and plays 7,189 yards to a Par-72.   PAIN OR GAIN These were the top-10 picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: The good news about playing for second place in an event of this magnitude is that it pays well. The check for second is worth $1.188 million, the first place check for a “normal” TOUR event.  ALONE Webb Simpson rolled in a par putt from just over 17 feet on his final hole to sign for 68 (-4) as he will take a seven-shot lead into the final round. Simpson’s last victory was in the fall of 2013, where he won the Shriners Hospitals for Children’s Open on 24-under-par. He’s 19-under after three rounds, matching Greg Norman’s 54-hole record from 1994.  With only three bogeys (one double) on the week and all three rounds in the 60’s, it’s going to take something special to knock him off Sunday as his seven-shot lead is largest in history entering the final round. RIDING SHOTGUN Danny Lee began the day in the penultimate group behind Simpson and Charl Schwartzel. Paired with Patrick Cantlay, Lee fired 70 to post 12-under and earn a spot in the final pairing.  Lee’s bogey-free round should give him confidence heading into tomorrow but he’ll be the first to remember that he hasn’t posted a top-10 paycheck since T7 at the CIMB Classic last October. In 2018, Lee hasn’t appeared in this column once as he’s MC nine times in 13 attempts. His best finish in 2018 is T51 (Valero Texas Open) and he will have some heavy hitters breathing down his neck. NO. 1  Using the Aim Point System must be growing on the OWGR No. 1 player as Dustin Johnson was second in SG: putting in Round 3. He holed almost 143 feet of putts and got up-and-down six times in eight tries. He’s looking to improve on his best finish, T12, as he’ll begin tomorrow nine shots off Simpson’s lead in third place. He’ll be looking for a big finish to hang on to his spot at No. 1 in the world. LOST IN THE SHUFFLE While the golfing world was hanging on every shot from Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth on Saturday morning, Jason Dufner, as usual, was quietly going about his business. After an uneventful 35 that didn’t cause any gamers to take notice, Dufner screamed home in a bogey-free 31 to post 66 and move up 42 spots to T4. His playing partner Johnson has closed the last two years 68 and 68. Dufner’s best Sunday in seven previous tries is 72 twice.  MOVING DAY Gamers have been waiting patiently for a monster on the weekend from Tiger Woods and they finally got their wish with his 65 in Round 3. Unfortunately he began the round 14 shots off the lead and will begin Sunday 11 off the pace. Imagine shooting 65 on Saturday and only gaining three shots!  Jordan Spieth, who also started Saturday 14 shots off the lead, matched Woods’ 65 with one more birdie (9 to 8) and one more bogey (2 to 1). Spieth only hit six fairways, but birdied the last three to see him land T8 heading into the final round. MOVING DAY: WRONG WAY Alex Noren opened 66-69 and was primed to improve on his 10th-place finish in his maiden voyage last year. As great as his bogey-free opening round was his 77 in Round 3 was the opposite. He circled one birdie against four bogeys and a double and dropped from T5 to T42. Jon Rahm shot 82 here on Saturday last year. He made one birdie and shot 77 on Saturday this year. He was six-over thru 11 holes before making his first birdie. He made the secondary cut and will have another chance to crack the TPC Sawgrass code. MDF With 80 players making the 36-hole cut, the field will be cut again for Round 4 to the top 70 and ties. Thursday’s rabble rousers Keith Mitchell (67), Lucas Glover (68) and Ollie Schniederjans (68) joined Zach Johnson in packing up a day early. Johnson still managed to run his record to 10 consecutive paydays and 13 of 14 in his career. STUDY HALL Round 3 played 71.800, up from 71.273 in Round 2. The morning wave handled the lowest scores of the day as there was barely any wind, overcast skies and soft greens. Thank you Charl Schwartzel for your AMAZING birdie on the last hole that assured Woods and Spieth would be paired on Sunday. It’s true, not all heroes wear capes! The South African played in the final group and shot 73 and ended the day T4. Johnny Miller said no player in the history of the PGA TOUR has ever blown a seven-shot lead.  The biggest comeback in this event is seven shots by Tim Clark in 2010.  

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