For Thursday's first round of the 2024 RBC Heritage, Alejandro Tosti found himself teeing off first and by himself in the 8:15 a.m. Eastern tee time. It turned out to be a blessing for the Argentine golfer who contended to win at the Texas Children's Houston Open.
Tosti loves to play quickly. He often complains when his playing partners are playing too slowly, and he's definitely not in the mood to take his time around the golf course. There are plenty of stories of Tosti just trying to keep things moving. (There are also other Tosti stories, but many of them are not fit for publication.)
Alejandro Tosti gets us underway here at Harbour Town.
With an odd number in the field, Tosti will play the first two days as a single. pic.twitter.com/ulW1N9aopm
— Paul Hodowanic (@PaulHodowanic) April 18, 2024
With Tosti going off the first tee, he has a clear runway to play as quickly as he would like, and he's taking full advantage. He quickly got out ahead of the 8:25 a.m. duo of Austin Eckroat and Erik Barnes by multiple holes, while he was also playing great golf. With nothing to stop him from playing how he would like, Tosti is poised to put up a great first-round score at host Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
The problem comes for Tosti on Friday, however. Under PGA Tour rules, players are typically playing in the same group for the first two rounds, with one time played in the morning wave and another in the afternoon wave. So for all the benefits Tosti has of playing by himself and first on Thursday morning, he has all of the negatives of playing by himself and first off the afternoon wave on Friday. He will be sandwiched between twosomes and still will have to play by himself. The amount of time he'll have to take between shots might be off-putting and annoying -- the antithesis of the joy he has to feel going off by himself on Thursday.
