Zalatoris hurting after yet another close call

The putt slid an inch－make that a millimeter－outside the left edge of the cup. Will Zalatoris squatted into a low crouch and let go of the putter, feeling it slide off the back of his shoulder and onto the turf. He bounced his hands off the green then cupped them over his face.

That's what agony looks like on a golf course. And even if it never felt more certain that Zalatoris is destined to win a major one day－probably soon－Sunday at the US Open was the most excruciating of his ever-growing list of close calls.

"I thought I had it," Zalatoris said after his miss left him one shot and less than an inch (2.5 centimeters) from a playoff with the champion, Matt Fitzpatrick. We've heard that before.

Zalatoris shot 1-under 69 to lose by a shot. This second-place finish came a mere four weeks after Zalatoris finished second at the PGA Championship in a loss to Justin Thomas in a playoff. And less than 15 months after he finished second at the Masters by one measly shot to Hideki Matsuyama.

In all, this marked his sixth top-10 finish in the majors since Zalatoris made his debut in the majors at the US Open at Winged Foot, two years ago. He is 25, has been on the PGA Tour for less than two years and now has runner-up finishes at three of the four majors.

"I'm three shots away from having a chance of being a three-time major champion," Zalatoris said. "A bounce here or there."

He and Fitzpatrick were tied as they walked onto the 15th tee box, a par-4 monster with a blind drive over a hill. Fitzpatrick blocked his drive wildly to the right. Zalatoris missed his, too, but not as badly.

When they arrived at the balls, Fitzpatrick's was sitting on a thin area trampled down by the gallery. Zalatoris' was gnarled in lush grass.

Fitzpatrick made a birdie from there; Zalatoris made bogey. He couldn't overcome that two-shot swing.

"We're walking down and he goes, 'I barely miss the fairway and I've got a horrible lie and he misses it by 30 yards (27 meters) and he's OK,'" said Zalatoris' caddie, Ryan Goble. "But Matt played great. And yeah, it was a great experience. So you just say, 'Yeah, we'll get him next time.'"

Zalatoris didn't have his tour card in 2020 when the pandemic forced the United States Golf Association to scrap qualifying and hand out exemptions to top players on the Korn Ferry Tour.

He made the field based on a high ranking that was helped by what still stands as his only professional win.

Agencies via Xinhua