Andrew Redington/Getty Mito Pereira of Chile and Will Zalatoris, right, of the United States shake hands on the 18th green during the third round of the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club on May 21, 2022 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Will Zalatoris is an American golfer who grew up in Texas and played golf collegiately at Wake Forest University. The 25-year-old golfer is in contention at the PGA Championship in 2022. Here’s what you need to know about his family and girlfriend, Caitlin Sellers.
1. Will Zalatoris, Who Was Born in California & Grew Up in the Dallas Area, Is the Son of Richard Zalatoris & Catherine Zalatoris, Who Was a Track Star at the University of Oregon
Will Zalatoris was born August 16, 1996, to his parents, Richard Zalatoris and Catherine Zalatoris. Zalatoris was born in San Francisco, California, but his family moved to the Dallas, Texas, area when he was young, according to the PGA Tour website.
They lived in Plano, Texas, and he attended Trinity Christian Academy before playing golf at Wake Forest University on an Arnold Palmer Scholarship, according to the Demon Deacons website. He said in a PGA Tour Q&A:
My dad took over a major mall renovation here in Dallas and he was flying here three or four days a week. Finally it made sense for us to move here. My mom was able to work from wherever she wanted to then, and so it’s worked out great. I grew up playing golf, spoiled. Growing up in California, I played at California Golf Club, and it was absolutely fantastic. The only thing that was tough was that there weren’t any juniors out there. It was an all-male golf club. At some point in time, my dad was going to have to drop out or join a spot where I could play with other kids. My dad was traveling a whole bunch for work so it made sense to move out (to Texas). The story we always tell is that the first two junior events I ever played in – in Texas – I got paired with Jordan Spieth and then Scottie Scheffler, so I’ve been reaping the benefits of that move ever since.
According to Golf Monthly, “His grandfather was a U.S. military pilot for more than 30 years, and his father and uncles were also pilots. He says he would love to learn to fly. His mother was a track-and-field athlete at the University of Oregon.”
Zalatoris wrote in Golf Digest, “There’s no Korn Ferry Tour trophy sitting at home without my dad bringing me to a driving range when I was 7 years old just to hit thousands of balls into a net 15 feet in front of us. And there’s certainly no opportunity to reach the PGA Tour without my parents picking up their lives to move from San Francisco to Dallas when I was 9 years old, giving me the chance to play in competitive junior events.
He added, “They did everything for me, and honestly, it makes me emotional writing it down. I’d say they sacrificed their lives so that I could pursue my dream, but my mom—a former track-and-field athlete and competitive person herself—would probably close the computer and call me right away. Because in my parents’ view, this was a choice. A choice that’s allowed me to be sitting here writing this article.”
2. Will Zalatoris Has Been Dating His Girlfriend, Caitlin Sellers, Since 2018, & He Proposed to Her in 2021
Will Zalatoris has been dating his girlfriend, now fiancee, since 2018 after the couple met at Wake Forest University, where they were both students, according to his social media pages. They have been engaged since 2021, when Zalatoris proposed. In an April 2021 Instagram post, Zalatoris wrote, “Best day of my life. I love you.”
Sellers’ Instagram is private but shows she lives with Zalatoris in Dallas, Texas. According to her LinkedIn profile, Sellers earned her master’s degree in marketing from the University of Texas in 2019 after graduating from Wake Forest in 2018 with a psychology degree.
Sellers works as a marketing analyst in the Dallas area. Sellers is a Texas native and went to high school at The Hockaday School in Dallas. Zalatoris and Sellers haven’t said when and where they plan to get married.
3. Zalatoris Is an Only Child, but He Calls Former NFL Quarterback Tony Romo His ‘Big Brother’
Tony Romo predicted a Will Zalatoris win this week at #TheMasters according to Jim Nantz… Unreal.
Zalatoris is an only child, according to the Wake Forest sports website, but he has developed a close bond with another top athlete, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback turned CBS football analyst Tony Romo. He has called Romo his “big brother.” Romo and Zalatoris are both members of the Maridoe Golf Club in Dallas.
Zalatoris wrote in Golf Digest, “Last year, I went back to my home course in Dallas to play with some old friends. I am lucky that my usual Sunday game includes Tony Romo, and out on the course, I’m going on about life, expectations, everything under the sun. Tony—who is no stranger to lofty expectations—interrupts me, looks me in the eye and says, ‘These are the years you’re going to look back on and be fond of because life is so simple. But instead of thinking like that, you’ve made everything such a big deal.'”
Zalatoris told Golf.com, “He’s basically been a big brother to me.”
4. Zalatoris’ Father Helped Spark Will’s Interest in Golf & His Mother Has Helped Give Him His Competitive Drive
Zalatoris’ father was a golfer and he passed along that to his son. Zalatoris told PGATour.com, “What would happen on Saturdays (growing up) is (that) my dad would play 18 holes with his buddies and they’d have their game and my mom and I would be hanging out around the house; she’d take me to the gym and I’d play with the other kids. Then I’d play a short route with my dad – Nos. 1, 2, 3, hit drives on No. 4, then play No. 9 – then we’d have Orange Julius milkshakes and drive home. That’s basically how I got introduced to golf.”
In Golf Digest, Zalatoris gave credit to his father for giving him the space he needed to become a pro, saying his dad never came to his golf lessons. “I never felt that overbearing presence that so many kids might feel,” Zalatoris wrote.
Zalatoris’ father has played golf at Augusta National before and ahead of The Masters in 2021, he gave his son advice, Zalatoris told Golf.com, “Every single day when I cross the bridge on 12, I look back. My dad told me — you know, he’s played here twice — and he just said, ‘Look back and enjoy it because it’s a view that you don’t really get. The fact that you’re doing this in the Masters, that’s your point to reflect on how cool it is to be here.'”
Along with his love for golf, Zalatoris picked up something else from his dad. He told PGATour.com he’s a foodie, “I get it from my dad. He worked for 35 years in retail and was trying all these different restaurants, trying to get chefs that owned their small shops to branch out and come to his properties. So probably a meal of Dim sum from San Francisco, that’s probably my favorite I’ve ever had. There’s a whole list of places from San Francisco that I absolutely love, but Dim sum to me … there’s nothing like it. The authenticity of the people pushing around the carts and not speaking much English and you not knowing what you’re getting but all of a sudden it’s the best thing you’ve ever had … I’m just a huge Dim sum guy.”
Zalatoris told Golf Digest his mother inspired his competitive drive and has also given him advice over the years. “My mom ran track at Oregon, middle distance, the 400 and 800. They’re brutal races. You’re sprinting as long as humanly possible. Golf can be similar, he said in a 2021 interview. “She always said to me: ‘Don’t force anything early.’ She doesn’t play much golf, but she gets the mentality. Playing Monday qualifiers and trying to shoot 65 every time is like running the 400; you’ve got to be a little sick to do either. I spent 17 months doing that. There were dark times. It took the four-month layoff for me to remember who I am as a golfer and how to have fun again.”
5. Zalatoris Has Celebrated His Fiancee’s Accomplishments on His Instagram Page as She Has Cheered Him on During His PGA Tour Career
Zalatoris has often celebrated his fiancee’s accomplishments on social media, while also posting photos of them together at PGA Tour events.
In May 2019, after her University of Texas graduation, Zalatoris, who skipped his senior year of college to turn pro, joked on Instagram, “Now I can say between the two of us we have two degrees. Promise I’ll be the one to get the third🥴. Way to go on getting your Masters from UT today. So proud of you. I know how hard you’ve worked. Love you, way to go!!!”
In October 2019, he posted a photo of them together at a Wake Forest football game, writing, “I swear the only thing we didn’t do in 48 hours is get our picture taken by Dean Shore. Besides that we ate, drank, and hiked four years of college in two days.”