Pair of Deacs Set to Compete at 87th Masters
4/6/2023 8:46:00 AM | Men's Golf
Wake Forest men’s golf alumni Cameron Young and Will Zalatoris are set to compete at the 87th Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Two Wake Forest men's golfer alumni are scheduled to take part in the 87th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club from Thursday, April 6 to Sunday, April 9.
The Demon Deacons will be well represented with Cameron Young and Will Zalatoris a part of the 88-person field this week. Wake Forest will have the most representatives in The Masters field out of any ACC school.
Young will be making his second appearance at the Masters debut this week while Zalatoris will be making his third appearance at the tournament.
Thursday Tee Times
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Cameron Young
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10:42 a.m.
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Will Zalatoris
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1:24 p.m.
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An Impressive Debut
In his debut at the tournament in 2021, Will Zalatoris Zalatoris nearly claimed his first green jacket. He was in contention all week and finished at 9-under-par from the tournament. Zalatoris was the only player to card below par rounds during every round.
Additionally in his Masters debut, Zalatoris nearly became the first player since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to win the Masters as a Tournament rookie.
Making Runs at 2022 Major Championships
The Demon Deacons made their presence felt during the Major Championships in the 2022 campaign, claiming three runner-up finishes at the PGA Championship, Open Championship and US Open last year with Zalatoris and Young each having at least one run at a major title.
A History of Excellence at the Masters
Wake Forest golfers have a long and illustrious history at the Masters, which dates back to Billy Joe Patton in 1954, who nearly captured the title in his first Masters appearance as an amateur.
Patton came within one stroke of being in a three-man playoff with Ben Hogan and Sam Snead for the championship. His final round 71 included a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole and a double bogey on the par-5 13th hole, when he tried to reach the green in two and put his ball into Rae's Creek.
The most famed member of Wake Forest golf, Arnold Palmer claimed four green jackets in his career and is one of just three golfers in the history of the tournament to have four or more Masters titles.
His first Masters and first major title came at the 1958 event and went on to win his next three green jackets over the next six years in 1960, 1962 and 1964. The 1964 title came by a six-stroke margin over Jack Nicklaus.
In 2004, he competed in the Masters Tournament for the last time, marking his 50th consecutive appearance in that event. At his death, he and Jack Nicklaus were the only two Masters champions to be regular members of Masters organizer Augusta National Golf Club, as opposed to the honorary membership the club grants to all Masters champions.
From 2007 until his death, Palmer served as an honorary starter for the Masters.
A host of other Demon Deacons have been close to winning the green jacket in Augusta. Lanny Wadkins, who won 21 times on the PGA Championship in 1977. Wadkins finished in the top three on three different occasions and inside of the top 20 in 11 different tournaments.
Curtis Strange finished inside of the top 10 on four different occasions including a runner-up appearance in 1985. Strange ended that tournament one stroke ahead of fellow Demon Deacon Jay Haas, who had five top-10s at the Masters including a third place finish in 1995.
In one of the more recent tournaments, Webb Simpson made a run towards the green jacket, tying for fifth at the 2019 Masters.
