PGA Tour star accused of deliberate slow play in tense final round at Houston Open
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Alejandro Tosti wasn’t happy with Min Woo Lee’s antics at Memorial Park. So he turned the tables on the Australian…
Alejandro Tosti has only been a PGA Tour player for a couple of years and we’ve already seen enough to know we want him to stick around.
For entertainment value, more than anything.
At one end of the scale, the 28-year-old has already picked up a fight with Tony Finau over playing order at an event. At the other, he leapt into the lake at the 17th at Sawgrass after a hole-in-one during a Players practice round.
Now he’s been accused of playing “mind games”.
It all started on the 8th hole of the Texas Children’s Houston Open, where Tosti was playing in the final group with Min Woo Lee and Ryan Fox.
Lee pumped his tee shot into a bush and proceeded to take more than seven minutes to play his second as the Australian deliberated over whether to try a Seve-like off-the-knees escape or take his medicine. In the end he opted for the latter, and the group was eventually clocked taking more than 30 minutes to play the par-5 hole.
(Regardless of your thoughts on the matter, this is a fascinating two minutes between Lee and caddie Bo Martin…)
Tosti was not happy and was caught on camera calling over a rules official to complain about how long Lee was taking to come to a devision.
“It’s going to be very interesting given what Min Woo’s dealing with, with this lead, trying to win for the first time, what takes place out here on this back nine,” Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay, the former caddie turned NBC on-course commentator, said during the broadcast.
The legendary bagman wasn’t wrong.
In an apparent protest, Tosti decided to give Lee a taste of his own medicine when the group reached the 12th hole.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but Tosti’s playing at his own pace,” Mackay explained. “At times it’s normal and at times it’s glacially slow, and he’s decided on this particular hole to really take his time. He’s holding up play in this particular group.”
NBC’s lead analyst, Kevin Kisner, said that “it’s just play whenever you want with this group”, while Brad Faxon added that Tosti was “playing some mind games”.
Mackay was clearly not amused by the Argentinean’s tactics.
“[Lee’s] head is really in the ballgame given the fact he’s trying to post his first win,” he scowled. “The bottom line is this is tremendously unfair for a 26-year-old guy trying to get over the finish line for the first time.”
Lee did manage to cling on for the one-shot win over Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland – and even allowed himself a bit of AimPoint banter over his tap-in that would ultimately seal his maiden title on the American circuit…
Tosti, meanwhile, had to settle for a tie for 5th as he seeks his own PGA Tour breakthrough. But rest assured this won’t be the last time we’re writing about his antics.
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Min Woo Lee upset Alejandro Tosti with his pace of play at the Houston Open.
