Alejandro Tosti is back in the spotlight. His history of more or less unpleasant confrontations with other players, commentators, and almost everything around him continues to grow. The 28-year-old Argentine golfer, who is in his second year on the PGA Tour, is considered one of the most controversial figures at the moment. This Sunday, he was involved in the latest episode during the final round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
Tosti was playing in the featured group alongside Min Woo Lee and Ryan Fox. It all started on the 8th hole. The Australian, who eventually won the tournament and was the clear leader at that point, missed his drive to the right, and the ball ended up quite deep in a bush. He took a long time to decide what to do. He even considered hitting the shot from his knees but eventually took a penalty drop, although he saved an extraordinary par.
According to Jim Bones Mackay, a former caddie for the likes of Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas and now a field commentator, Tosti complained to an official that Min Woo Lee had deliberately wasted time during that action. Additionally, Mackay mentioned that shortly before, Tosti had another confrontation with Ryan Fox.
A little later, Mackay again drew the audience’s attention to the fact that after a tee shot, Tosti was walking about 50 metres behind Fox and Lee, suggesting that he was intentionally delaying the game. Meanwhile, Lee was competing for the win, while Tosti was soon out of contention.
The Argentine responded to the commentator the next day. “Bones talks rubbish to the fans, saying I was 50 metres behind my playing partners. The part he didn’t see is that I had used the bathroom and was preparing a drink,” he replied. Similarly, he denied to Hándicap 54 that he had a confrontation with Fox.
In any case, this is just another chapter in Tosti’s history. Just the previous year, he had a confrontation with Tony Finau at the Houston Open. Both hit similar shots to the green, and their balls were at a similar distance to the hole. Neither wanted to putt first, as it was evidently advantageous to go second to gain more information on the putt’s behaviour. They couldn’t agree, and Thomas Detry, the third member of the group, was forced to intervene. The Belgian sided with Finau, and Tosti putted first with a sarcastic smile.
Similarly, in his last year on the Korn Ferry Tour, when he already had his PGA Tour card secured, he was expelled from a tournament for disciplinary reasons without it being clear what exactly had happened.
