Will Zalatoris & Co’s Reputation Suffers Big Hit After Dreadful Death & Scottie Scheffler Arrest Shake Golf World

With each passing day, a new complication jolts the 2024 PGA Championship. From hours of traffic making the commute to the Valhalla Golf Club increasingly difficult to Scottie Scheffler’s shocking arrest, this year’s tournament created mayhem. The golfer’s arrest was followed by a lot of speculation about his ability to tee up, if he had failed, he would have been disqualified. What caused the traffic was the dreadful demise of the tournament’s vendor after getting hit by a shuttle bus. This did not infuriate the golf community as much as Will Zalatoris’s words have.

Will Zalatoris, for one, candidly revealed the complications the ongoing conditions have posed on the play at the major championship. The famous pro golfer revealed that he had to walk two miles to make it to the course this morning with Cam Young and Austin Eckroat, a walk that took the trio over two hours to make it to the tee. The conditions had become so grave that Zalatoris even told his parents not to show up to support him amidst the chaos. The golfer said, “I’m not happy I was proven right.” His complaint from the aggrieved pro golfer has not met with an empathetic response from angered fans.

The outer two lanes were shut down for pedestrian and police access. The inner-most lane was used for turning vehicles, courtesy cars, and shuttles. Due to the accident’s location, the PGA of America directed players to avoid accessing the course from the east, and exclusively access it from the west. For Mackenzie Hughes, his 30-minute commute was tripled to an hour and a half. The tee times on Friday were delayed by 80 minutes.

While some of the fans criticized such a response as insensitive in light of the dreadful death that took place in Louisville, others were more concerned about the painfully slow walk leading to an even slower pace of play. So what was the golf world’s final verdict on the agony-filled complaint raised by Zalatoris, which they consensually dismissed?

Fans react to Will Zalatoris’s slow walk to the Valhalla Golf Club

One fan wrote, “Two miles in two hours is crazy. Brian Harman pace.” A perplexed netizen questioned, “They walked 1 mph?” Comparing Zalatoris’s slow pace of two miles in two hours to Brian Harman’s famous slow pace of play. They termed the long time taken by Zalatoris and Co. “crazy.” Their tone highlighted the sheer amount of disbelief considering the star’s rather clear pace of play track record.

Another fan was quick to bring attention to the more serious issue at hand, “I beg him to consider the circumstances in which a man passed away. A family lost a member. I apologize you had to walk in the rain and ur family didn’t get to watch u play 18. The only focus right now should be for the family that lost a loved one.” Thus criticizing Zalatoris for voicing his concerns regarding the traffic blockage in light of the dreadful situation at hand. They also emphasized the need to support the aggrieved family, rather than focusing on such menial issues.

Yet another fan sarcastically remarked, “I hear Cantlay was escorting them, which is why it took so long.” This sarcastic feedback was centered around Patrick Cantlay’s rather public support for the slow pace of play in the past. At the 2023 Masters, Cantlay’s slow-pace issues garnered a lot of criticism. Ever since it has been one of his defining qualities.

A disappointed Twitter user clarified, “These guys are such great athletes 2 miles is a 20-minute jog. This just keeps getting worse and worse. Maybe give it a rest; it’s not having the impact you think. I’m losing what little bit of respect I had for them as professional athletes.” Their anger-filled response brought to attention how professional athletes like Will Zalatoris should take a lesser amount of time to cover such a short distance, keeping in mind their physically active lifestyle. As per the fan, he also seemed to have lost a little bit of respect for him because he did not pay any heed to the pain that the family of the deceased went through.

It remains to be seen whether the condition of the Louisville-based venue will worsen in the coming days or not. Stay tuned to EssentiallySports for regular updates about the 2024 PGA Championship as the excitement unfolds at Valhalla!