On Sunday, Will Zalatoris—in real danger of being labeled a “nearly” man in just his second full year on tour—outlasted Sepp Straka in a three-hole playoff to capture his first-ever PGA Tour win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The win validated 18 months of almosts for Zalatoris, who finished second at the 2021 Masters and lost in playoffs at both the Farmers Insurance Open and PGA Championship this year. Although Zalatoris has kept his chin up through it all, the outpouring of emotion when his winning bogey dropped on Sunday showed just how much the run of runner-ups had been weighing on him.
But it wasn’t just Zalatoris (or his ride-or-die bettors) who got choked up, however. An ex-pro by the name of Happy Gilmore was also overjoyed with Zalatoris’ big, monkey-bucking win.
As you may remember, this unlikely bromance began when golf fans discovered that Zalatoris looked eerily like Gilmore’s caddie from the 1996 golf comedy. Both Adam Sandler and Zalatoris took note of the resemblance, with the latter even unveiling some custom wedge stamps to get in on the joke …
Now they finally have a big win to celebrate together, one that puts Zalatoris in the driver’s seat for the FedEx Cup Playoff’s $18-million payout later this month. Should Zalatoris still be leading the pack at East Lake in two Sunday’s time, don’t be surprised if you see Gilmore in the gallery rooting him on. You can do it, Willy! Scottie’s gonna choke!
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