Will Zalatoris withdraws from CJ Cup Byron Nelson after back flare-up

The CJ Cup Byron Nelson is losing one of its hometown competitors.

Will Zalatoris withdrew Tuesday from the PGA Tour stop at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, which is located about 20 minutes north of Plano, Texas, where Zalatoris is from. The Tour initially did not provide a reason, though Zalatoris took to social media to disclose that he had a flare-up with his surgically repaired back.

“My back needs some rest and recovery,” Zalatoris wrote. “I am ahead of schedule according to my doctors, but unfortunately the first six months back are the most important for the longterm health of my back. I need to be prudent to make sure I don’t miss a big chunk of time again. I hate that a flare-up happened during one of my favorite weeks all year, but knew something like this was a possibility early on in my return to golf.”

Zalatoris missed about eight months of competition after undergoing a microdiscectomy on his lower back last April. He was ranked inside the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking at the time and dropped outside the top 50 earlier this year. However, he’s climbed back to No. 30 after top-10s at the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Masters Tournament.

He has competed each of the last three weeks on Tour, including this past week’s Zurich Classic, where he and teammate Sahith Theegala missed the cut. He was also T-44 at the RBC Heritage.

The Nelson is now left with just three top 30 players in the world: No. 20 Jordan Spieth, No. 22 Jason Day and No. 23 Tom Kim.