Will Zalatoris looks a little different in 2025, with the PGA Tour winner showing up to The Sentry looking bigger and stronger than he has at any point in his pro career.
As is turns out, Zalatoris made a conscious decision to add on weight and gain muscle after having lost weight in the last several offseasons.
"After the season, I typically end up losing somewhere between 5 and 10 pounds every year," Zalatoris said Thursday after an opening 8-under 65 on the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort in Hawaii.
"I left Colorado (after the BMW Championship) at 163, and I weighed in before I left at 182. I've put in, it's been a lot of work, a lot of work in the gym with Damon Goddard, a lot of work ... longevity, I mean, obviously I could stand up on any tee and pop off a 180 (miles per hour) ball speed, but I want to do that for as long as I can. Hopefully, this is something that's going to help for the long-term."
Zalatoris said the benefit of the added weight is that he no longer feels like he has to swing out of his shoes just to keep pace on the modern PGA Tour.
"I just feel like I'm not swinging 110 percent. I think when you watched me coming out, I was super skinny and wiry and kind of firing off of adrenaline," he said. "Now I've been out here long enough that I know what to do, but it's also, I'm able to swing within myself and still carry it what I was doing before."
The benefits of not having to go full bore on every swing seemed to help in keeping his stamina walking around Kapalua.
"Really, I mean, I was kind of laughing because going up No. 9 is our worst walk we have all year, and normally I'm huffing and puffing, and I was like, Okay, I know it's Thursday and we've been off awhile, but that's the best I've felt. So it's felt really good. I really haven't had to get a cortisone shot or anything in a while, so this is the best I've felt," he said.
Zalatoris, who has dealt with back problems in the last few seasons that included a 2023 back surgery, said that the weight gain hasn't really translated to more distance so much as it's helping him in every other facet of his game and health.
"I think the best way I could describe how I'm feeling compared to where I was before this weight gain was I thought I was at my 100 percent, and it still didn't feel good," he said. "I would have to take a couple days off and rest my back, or get a bunch of treatment. Not doing that anymore.
"It's hard when you're limiting your practice to then go out and play against the best players in the world. So now I think the beauty of it is I'm trying to do this for longevity, I'm not doing this for distance. If you look at my numbers, they're all the same, but it feels so much better."
