Five things to know: Alejandro Tosti

HOUSTON – PGA TOUR rookie Alejandro Tosti has entered the chat.

The Argentina native earned a spot in Saturday’s final group at the Texas Children’s Houston Open alongside Tony Finau and Thomas Detry, as he seeks his first TOUR title in just his eighth start as a member.

Tosti, 27, earned his first TOUR card with a No. 3 finish on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, but he has struggled to make an impact early this season. He arrived at Memorial Park Golf Course with four missed cuts in seven starts and ranked No. 181 on the season-long FedExCup standings.

This week has been different though. He opened in 66-67 at Houston’s beloved muni venue to hold second place into the weekend, two back of Finau.

Here are five things to know about Tosti.

1. He grew up riding the bus to the course

Tosti had an unconventional introduction to the game. His origins stem from his childhood home in Rosario, Argentina, playing with a charcoal stick and ping-pong ball; he and his brother would bet five cents to see who holed the ball into a backyard drain. Starting at age 8, he would often take a one-hour bus ride from Rosario to the nearest public course in Perez to practice on most weekdays; his father taught him the bus route, and his parents would walk him to and from the bus stop.

“That kid always dreamed on that bus ride to be able to have a chance to play on the PGA TOUR and now it’s a reality,” Tosti said. “It’s happening, so just enjoy it and try your best.”

2. He sees golf as art

Tosti isn’t afraid to get creative off the tee. Whether the hole plays for a draw, fade or straight ball, he readily accepts the challenge – or sometimes cooks up his own play. Hard hooks, spinny cuts and low lasers are all among his arsenal. He thrives in this area too; he entered this week ranked No. 7 on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee.

It’s no surprise that when asked Friday to name the strength of his game, he simply said “driver.”

“I just enjoy visualizing a shot and just stepping out there and execute it; it's the fun part of the game,” Tosti said Friday. “Since very young I was always that way. Grew up at a course that is very short and you have to work the ball both ways. It's the same here, but the courses are longer now.”

3. He’s a foodie

Tosti loves to cook and considers Argentine empanadas to be his specialty; he has been known to cook for host families at various stops in professional golf. He didn’t start cooking until he moved to the United States for college; now he enjoys cooking Argentinian meals, Asian food and using different spices to accentuate flavors.

“My descendancy is Italian and we’re big into cooking … I grew up going out to eat three to four times a year,” Tosti said. “We cook at a friend’s place, or everybody comes to your house or go to a family party; it’s always home cooking. I grew up with my mom fixing lunch every day and then my dad fixing dinner for every meal, so I got it from them.”

Tosti particularly enjoys his parents’ breaded chicken – “in the oven, just plain with some good salad or mashed potatoes” – and the aforementioned empanadas.

“I enjoy preparing my meals and enjoy exploring different types of kitchens, different spices,” he said.

4. He’s a fixer

Tosti appreciates his golf gift but doesn’t want the game to consume his life. He enjoys venturing outside the ropes and doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty, citing the influence of his dad, an electronic engineer.

“I’m not a golf fanatic,” Tosti said. “I’m a good player who takes the time to do the work, but once the work is done, I take off and I do a lot of things. I love cars; I try to modify my cars and change stuff in it myself and learn about it. I’m a fixer. I like taking apart stuff and figuring out what’s going on, at least try. My dad is an electronic engineer and I grew up seeing a lot of stuff being taken apart and fixed, so that’s something that I’m still learning.”

Case in point – Tosti recently found a blender about to be thrown out and took pride in fixing it.

“The last one was a blender that was next to the trash can,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Wow, this blender in the trash can.’ I took everything apart and that there was just one wire that was cut, and I put it together with a soldering iron and just worked out great.”

5. His accomplishments are far-reaching

Some might see Tosti’s name on a TOUR leaderboard as a surprise, but his game has been building toward this moment. He was a four-time winner at the University of Florida and earned first-team All-American honors as a junior in 2017; he was also medalist at the 2017 SEC Championships. After turning pro in 2018, he won on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica the next year and again in 2022, where he finished No. 5 on the season-long standings to earn Korn Ferry Tour membership.

Then he produced a banner 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season, winning the Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse – including a hole-out eagle on the final day – en route to a third-place finish on the season-long standings and his first PGA TOUR card.

His rookie season hadn’t gone as plan into Houston, but things are coming together.

“I was really sad at the beginning of the year not being able to kind of mentally engage with the game, not be connected, not getting the results that I wanted,” Tosti said Friday. “Made a couple changes coming into this week and they're working, so just going to keep it this way.”