“Unfortunately, I grew up playing against Scottie Scheffler” – When Will Zalatoris recalled playing against World No. 1 during junior golf days

One year ago, prominent YouTuber Skratch sat down with several pro golfers, including Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler. These two have been going at each other since youth tournaments, so their rivalry goes a long way back. It has continued into professional outings, and Zalatoris admitted in this interview that Scheffler generally had the upper hand.

Zalatoris joked:

"Unfortunately I grew up playing against Scottie since I was nine. So I wish I had won a hell of a lot more but it pushed me to be better," he said.

Scheffler confirmed, saying that he and Zalatoris were regular competitors growing up. They are both 27 now. Zalatoris also added:

"We had some battles through the years and we'd be talking smack to each other as like 11 or 12 year olds. And now we're out here but we're still doing the same thing," he continued.

Scheffler has morphed into one of the PGA Tour's premier talents. Even a year ago, that was true as he'd already won one Major tournament. He has since gone on to double that and get on an incomparable winning streak in 2024, something Will Zalatoris is likely unsurprised by.

In the interview, Scheffler also gave some advice to his younger self:

"I would say probably not to overthink things. I think when you're young you really put too much emphasis on whatever it is that you're doing. I think just take things a little bit lighter."

He has successfully been able to do that. He frequently talks about his mindset in tournaments and how he maintains his composure at all times. During the Masters Tournament in 2024, Scheffler said that he was fighting to keep his mental strength up as he continued working towards his second Green Jacket.

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Neither Will Zalatoris nor Scottie Scheffler was in Byron Nelson event

The competition that Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris have shared for so long did not continue last weekend. Neither of them was in the field for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at the beginning of May.

Will Zalatoris did not play last weekend

This was for different reasons. Scheffler's wife has been expecting a child for a while, and he's taking a bit of time to be with her during that process. He's also not in the field for the Wells Fargo Championship, either.

Will Zalatoris had to take some time off to deal with an ailing back injury. This is an ailment he's been dealing with for some time and it comes back up and forces him to sit when he otherwise probably wouldn't.

He said via Golf Digest:

“My back needs some rest and recovery. 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, unlike Scheffler, is back in the field this weekend for the Wells Fargo Championship.