TULSA, Okla. — Will Zalatoris will stay up a bit later than usual on Saturday night. He likes to do that the evening before late tee times so that he can sleep in the following morning.
He’ll watch the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat play in the NBA playoffs, though he said he doesn’t have a dog in the fight.
Then, on Sunday, he’ll make a push for his first Major championship victory.
“I’ve got nothing to lose,” he said.
Zalatoris, a 25-year-old Dallas resident, trails PGA Championship leader Mito Pereira (-9) through three rounds at Southern Hills. He’s tied with Matt Fitzpatrick at 6-under par, while Cameron Young (-5) and Abraham Ancer (-4) are close behind.
It, in a vacuum, is a good position to be in. And with four previous top-10 finishes in Major championships, it’s one he’s been in before. It may feel less so considering he’d be tied for first place headed into Sunday if he hadn’t picked up a club in round three.
The tournament’s 36-hole leader at 9-under, Zalatoris shot a 3-over 73 on Saturday and fell from first place. The strides he’d made in Round 1 and 2 — namely ranking first in strokes gained putting — fizzled a bit as he shot 4-over par on the front nine alone in cold, rainy and windy Oklahoma conditions.
He missed a 10-foot par putt on hole one, and settled for a round-opening bogey. He missed a 7-foot birdie putt on three, a five-foot par putt on four, a six-foot par putt on six and another six-foot birdie putt on nine. He ranked 58th in strokes gained putting in Round 2, and resembled the putter he’s been most of the season on the PGA Tour (ranked 185th in strokes gained putting) than the one who sank four 20-foot-plus putts in round one.
“I really did a poor job of leaving myself above the hole pretty much all day,” Zalatoris said.
He steadied his play at the turn, made back-to-back short putts on 10 and 11 to build up a bit of confidence, and shot 1-under par on the back nine with a pair of birdies on 13 (thanks to a 35-foot made putt) and 17. He lost his solo lead with the first-hole bogey, and dropped to second on two after Pereira carded a birdie. The birdie on 13 briefly tied him with Pereira — who bogeyed four of five holes from eight through 12 — atop the leaderboard, though Pereira answered back with a birdie moments later.
“I was pretty frustrated with the start but I would rather have a frustrating start and good finish,” Zalatoris said. “It’s good momentum heading into tomorrow.”
Zalatoris stood on the right side of history Friday night after he led the field by a shot through two rounds. In the seven previous Major championships hosted at Southern Hills, each eventual winner had at least a share of the lead through 36 holes.
He now stands on the wrong side of it. Of those seven eventual winners, all held at least a share of the lead through 54 holes, too. None had to rally in the final round as Zalatoris will have to on Sunday.
Zalatoris was asked Friday night how he felt knowing those chasing the leader at Southern Hills often failed. He shrugged it off, and said that history “is what it is.”
Twenty four hours later, he’d become the chaser. And if history is what it is — the past, not the present — then Zalatoris may be feeling fine headed into Sunday’s final round.
He’s got nothing to lose now, after all.
“I think you’ve got to go out and get it,” Zalatoris said. “Everybody’s got to go out and earn it. Just like I said, keep doing what I’m doing and hopefully it adds up to the lowest score.”
