'I thought I had it:' Zalatoris finishes 2nd in yet another major

BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — The putt slid an inch — make that a millimeter — outside the left edge of the cup. Will Zalatoris squatted into a low crouch and let go of the putter, feeling it slide off the back of his shoulder and onto the turf. He bounced his hands off the green then cupped them over his face.

That's what agony looks like on a golf course. And even if it seems all but certain that Zalatoris is destined to win a major one day — probably soon — Sunday at the U.S. Open was the most excruciating of his ever-growing list of close calls.

“I thought I had it,” Zalatoris said after his miss left him one shot and less than an inch from a playoff with the champion, Matt Fitzpatrick.

We've heard that before.

Zalatoris shot 1-under 69 to lose by a shot. This second-place finish comes a mere four weeks after Zalatoris finished second at the PGA Championship in a loss to Justin Thomas in a playoff. And less than 15 months after he finished second at the Masters by one measly shot to Hideki Matsuyama.

In all, this marked his sixth top-10 finish in the majors since Zalatoris made his debut at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot two years ago. He is 25, has been on the PGA Tour for less than two years and now has runner-up finishes in three of golf's four biggest tournaments.

“I'm three shots away from having a chance of being a three-time major champion,” Zalatoris said. “A bounce here or there.”

Oh, those bounces.

He and Fitzpatrick were tied as they walked onto the 15th tee box, a 500-yard, par-4 monster with a blind drive over a hill. Fitzpatrick blocked his drive wildly to the right. Zalatoris missed his, too, but not as badly.

When they arrived at the balls, Fitzpatrick's was sitting on a thin area trampled down by the