Will Zalatoris' nightmarish injury saga continues as he faces back surgery next month, forcing him to miss the entire 2027 PGA Tour season.

Zalatoris has endured what he describes as "four years of hell" with persistent back problems, devastating what had been an exceptionally promising career trajectory. He established himself as a major championship threat, accumulating three runner-up results and six top-10 placements between 2020 and 2022.

The PGA Tour star's entire 2023 campaign was lost following a microdiscectomy procedure, with an artificial disc replacement following two years afterward. It comes as Patrick Reed warns LIV Golf stars hoping to make a quick return to the DP World Tour.

This season proved equally frustrating for Zalatoris, managing only four events before complications from his back issues led to a torn hip labrum in April, keeping him inactive ever since.

The relentless setbacks have been particularly cruel for someone possessing such remarkable ability. The 30-year-old will undergo his third back operation next month, a spinal fusion procedure that will sideline him through 2028.

Before surgery, he plans to compete at the Austin Championship from Nov 12-15, telling reporters at Wednesday's media day: "I've been through four years of hell, so it's good to have something that will hopefully correct it.

"It's not something you want to do, but when you have three tour physical therapists tell you it needs to be done at some time, you go ahead and do it."

Not long ago, Zalatoris was regularly competing for major titles. He came within one stroke of victor Hideki Matsuyama at the 2021 Masters. A playoff defeat to Justin Thomas in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills followed in 2022, and he fell short to Matt Fitzpatrick by a single stroke in the U.S. Open at Brookline just a month later.

Zalatoris revealed his hip injury stemmed from weakness in his back, and while he remains hopeful of returning in better shape, he conceded: "I can't promise anybody anything because of what I've been through. I'm the oldest 30-year-old you will ever meet.

"I'm just working on the availably is the best part of ability phase. I just enjoy the Tuesday-Wednesday practice rounds with the guys more than any Thursday-Friday rounds."

Zalatoris secured his first and only PGA Tour victory at the FedEx St Jude Championship in 2022 following a string of near misses. His winner's exemption will have lapsed by the time he makes his comeback, yet he remains confident he will retain his tour status upon his return to fitness.

Nevertheless, he has accepted that he will need to restart his career on the tour's second-tier Challenger Series rather than the high-earning Championship series when a new two-track system is introduced in 2028.

"I've been in contact with the tour, which has been great," he added. "It looks like I can come back in 2028 and play in the Challenger Series if everything works like it should."