Will Zalatoris Withdraws from 2023 Masters Prior to Round 1 Because of Injury

The PGA Tour announced Thursday that Will Zalatoris withdrew from the 2023 Masters because of an undisclosed injury.

Zalatoris had been scheduled to tee off in Thursday's opening round at 1:24 p.m. ET before deciding to remove himself from the tournament.

According to Dan Rapaport of Barstool Sports, Zalatoris' coach, Josh Gregory, said Zalatoris felt "tight" when he woke up Thursday morning, and it never improved.

Rapaport noted that both Zalatoris and Gregory were "emotional," but they wanted to be "cautious" so as not to risk any further issues.

The 26-year-old finished second in the 2021 Masters, just one stroke behind winner Hideki Matsuyama.

Although Zalatoris did not become a PGA Tour regular until 2020, the San Francisco golfer has enjoyed a great deal of success in major tournaments.

In his two Masters appearances, Zalatoris owns finishes of second and sixth place. He has also finished second and eighth in the PGA Championship, and second and sixth in the U.S. Open.

Last year, Zalatoris finished sixth or better in three of the four major tournaments, including second-place results at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.

While Zalatoris hasn't quite gotten over the hump to win his first major yet, he was part of a playoff at last year's PGA Championship, which was won by Justin Thomas.

He also won his first career PGA Tour tournament last year, taking the FedEx St. Jude Championship from Sepp Straka in a playoff.

While the Masters field is stacked with PGA Tour and LIV Golf stars, Zalatoris was expected to be among the top contenders.

With Zalatoris out of the running, 2021 Masters champion Matsuyama and 2022 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler stand out as two of the top players to beat.