The Five: Most pressing questions about PGA TOUR’s top stars

The PGA TOUR returns to one of its signature stops this week, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, contested at Muirfield Village. Consistently one of the best venues and events of the year, most of the TOUR’s top players are in attendance.

So ahead of this week’s Signature Event, let’s look at some of the biggest looming questions for the stars in attendance and a few that are notably missing.

1. Where does Will Zalatoris go from here?

Will Zalatoris was once a top-10 player. Now he’s likely going to fall outside the top 100 because of factors largely outside of what he’s done inside the ropes.

Zalatoris announced Monday that he underwent back surgery last week after he re-herniated two discs in his back. It’s another back-related setback for Zalatoris, who missed eight months of competition after a microdiscectomy in spring 2023.

It’s an incredibly unfortunate development for Zalatoris, who was once one of the brightest young stars in the game. In 2021, he finished three major championships and carded top 10s in each, including a runner-up at the Masters in his pro debut. He seemed destined to lift a major championship trophy one day and regularly contend on the PGA TOUR for years to come.

But since returning from his first back surgery, Zalatoris has not been the same player. Zalatoris’ ball speed from the last two years is down significantly from his pre-injury speeds, as he adjusts to his new normal post-surgery. Without distance as a weapon, Zalatoris went from elite to average off the tee, putting the stress on other parts of his game. His approach play has remained among the top 30 on TOUR, but his putting has held him back from top finishes. In the last 18 months, Zalatoris has had three top-10 finishes, two of those coming in back-to-back starts in February/March 2024.

“This spring, I started feeling some discomfort and instability in my back that progressively got worse,” Zalatoris said on Instagram. “Following the PGA Championship, an MRI showed that I had re-herniated two discs. After discussing the options with my medical team, I underwent surgery last Friday with Dr. Michael Duffy at the Texas Back Institute.”

So, where does Zalatoris go from here? When healthy, he’s proven to be one of the best in the sport. But back injuries are fickle, and that’s becoming a bigger and bigger "what if." Is it realistic to expect he can return to the player he was before the issues? In recent months, Daniel Berger has completed a similar comeback and has returned to his pre-back injury form. Let’s hope Zalatoris can follow a similar path.

2. How long can Scottie Scheffler dominate with the putter?

Here’s a scary stat for the rest of pro golf: Scottie Scheffler is the 12th-best putter on the PGA TOUR this season (minimum 40 rounds). Yes, Scheffler learned how to putt. Uh oh.

Hidden by the fact that Scheffler showed visible frustration to begin the year and, at least by his standards, battled his golf swing, Scheffler’s putter is better than it’s been in years. In 10 events this season, he’s gained strokes on the field eight times. In the two events he didn’t – last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge and the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard – Scheffler still finished T4 and T11, respectively.

Is this a sign of sustainable putting to come? Or just a hot streak with the flatstick? The rest of the TOUR is in trouble if it’s the latter. When firing on all cylinders, Scheffler has shown how dangerous he can be. He reached No. 1 in the world without much consistency on the greens. If he finally has it, how long might he stay there?

3. Will Scottie or Rory end up with the better season?

The Player of the Year Race, for the foreseeable future, is down to two names: Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.

Who will end up with the better season? McIlroy has the current edge with three wins already under his belt – all at iconic tournaments: the Masters, THE PLAYERS, and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Scheffler has two wins, though both have come more recently than any of McIlroy’s. His historic winning score at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson was a dangerous precursor to what he did two weeks later, winning the PGA Championship in runaway fashion. Now, Scheffler heads into a stretch with plenty of past success. He won the Memorial and the Travelers last year, the next two Signature Events, and is forecast as a top fit for Oakmont, the site of the U.S. Open.

It’s the storyline that will dominate pro golf for the rest of the year: Rory vs. Scottie. Who will emerge with the better season is still unknown, but it’s already one of the most competitive modern rivalries we’ve seen in golf.

4. Can any American stalwarts find form in time for the Ryder Cup?

The Ryder Cup is less than four months away, and while that still leaves time for players to find their game, the event is getting close enough that several players may start to worry about their troublesome form costing them a spot on the team.

In particular, several Americans who figured to be favorites for Keegan Bradley’s squad have struggled this year. Max Homa’s difficulties have been the most documented, now outside the top 110 in the FedExCup and top 80 in the OWGR, but the Americans’ struggles extend beyond him.

Sahith Theegala has just two top 25s this season and is battling a neck injury that has forced him to withdraw from his last two events (the Truist and the PGA Championship). Sam Burns’ form has improved recently with three top 20s in his last five starts, but that’s largely due to some extremely good putting rounds that have covered up some ball-striking issues. Wyndham Clark has one top 10 this season. Cameron Young has as many top-50 finishes (five) as he does missed cuts. And Zalatoris and Billy Horschel are no longer in consideration after mid-season injuries.

It’s not time to panic about any of these players, but their performance over the next two months in the remaining Signature Events and majors should be closely monitored. Without signs of improved play, all might be left off the U.S. Team this year.

5. What happened to Tom Kim?

When Tom Kim arrived at the Memorial presented by Workday last year, it was his sixth consecutive start on TOUR and part of a larger stint in which he played 14 of 16 weeks, spanning pretty much the whole summer.

But Kim is not returning to Muirfield Village this season, and it’s not his decision. Kim will be watching from home because, for the second consecutive Signature Event, he did not qualify.

The 22-year-old has become one of the TOUR’s most captivating young talents thanks to his Presidents Cup performances and historic early success (he’s the first player to win twice on TOUR before the age of 21 since Tiger Woods in 1996). But we now find Kim in some uncharted territory as he struggles for the first time in his fledgling career.

Kim has one top 10 in 14 events – a T8 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – but has otherwise finished outside the top 35 in every other start. He finished T42 at THE PLAYERS Championship, T52 at the Masters and 71st at the PGA Championship. While many of his contemporaries played the Truist Championship in Philadelphia three weeks ago, Kim was playing the Additional Event in Myrtle Beach. In the process, Kim has fallen to 85th in the FedExCup and 45th in the Official World Golf Ranking, outside the thresholds needed to qualify for the Signature Events.

Kim’s statistics have fallen off across the board, though his struggles off the tee are the most pronounced. He’s spent almost all of his pro career as one of the most accurate drivers, which, combined with average distance, has made him above-average overall. That accuracy has slipped in 2025, and without distance gains to make up for it, Kim’s numbers have dropped.

Can Kim self-correct? It’s less than a year ago that he took Scheffler to a playoff at the Travelers Championship when Scheffler was operating at the peak of his powers. Kim may not even qualify to see if he can do it again.