Alejandro Tosti jumps in water after practice-round ace on No. 17 at THE PLAYERS Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Making an ace at the island-green, par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass (THE PLAYERS Stadium Course) is the stuff of dreams.

Now add the fact that it’s your first-lifetime ace. Add that it’s your first PLAYERS Championship appearance, as a 28-year-old Argentinian from humble beginnings.

It equates to an electric scene, to say the least, on the eve of the 51st PLAYERS Championship. And it explains why Alejandro Tosti jumped in the water after his hole-in-one at No. 17 in his practice round Wednesday afternoon at THE PLAYERS.

Tosti holed a 52-degree wedge from 133 yards in the Wednesday twilight, making his final preparations for his first PLAYERS start – the ball landed 15 past the hole and spun back into the cup – and he met the moment with childlike glee. Several amateurs who play TPC Sawgrass throughout the year claim that they’d jump in the water upon making an ace at the island green, one of golf’s most iconic visuals. Tosti claimed earlier in the day, while playing the par-3 eighth hole, that he would jump in the water if he aced No. 17. The University of Florida alum was a man of his word. He considered a full dive before gracefully plunging into the water (after a playful push from his caddie). The crowd roared as he resurfaced and raised his arms; his caddie helped him exit the pond and they shared a hug on the grassy surface.

Not only did Tosti take a swim, but he proceeded to finish his practice round on No. 18 – working through his normal preparations, analyzing green contours and such. It was the day’s second ace at No. 17 after JJ Jakovac (caddie for Collin Morikawa) made the first hole-in-one in the 26-year history of THE PLAYERS’ caddie challenge, which raises money for ALS research.

“I heard there was another hole-in-one earlier,” Tosti said afterward, “and my caddie said, ‘You can use the slope,’ and I hit it in the slope and I was like, ‘No way this is going in.’ I look at my friend and the ball starts rolling back and just goes in the hole, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ I’ve been telling people that if I make it in the hole on 17, I’m going in the water, so I had to 100% go in the water, and I was so happy, and really cool to have that moment today.”

Tosti was brimming from ear to ear as he posed for photos on the rope line off No. 18 green and met with local media. He has lived in nearby Gainesville, Florida, for roughly a decade but had never attended THE PLAYERS as a fan. He finished No. 137 on last year’s FedExCup Fall standings as a PGA TOUR rookie and then bettered his status via Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry last fall, contested at adjacent TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course and Sawgrass Country Club. He earned his spot at THE PLAYERS at No. 116 on the FedExCup standings into this week, as the field was filled via current-year FedExCup standings into THE PLAYERS.

It has been a long and winding road for Tosti, who learned the game in his childhood in Argentina by 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.

Tosti sees golf as art, never afraid to get creative off the tee or play aggressively. He said in his first-timer interview Wednesday that he intended to hit many drivers this week, including on the par-4 18th – which features a narrow, angled fairway at Tosti’s typical driving distance.

But the second-year TOUR pro competes with little fear, and the celebration after his ace at the island-green 17th proved just that.

“I’ve seen so many things. I’ve seen lip-outs, I’ve seen the ball go in the hole and go out of the hole," said Tosti, who had seen just one prior-ace – at a PGA TOUR Latinoamerica event, where Toni Hakula made a hole-in-one to win a car. "I’ve been playing golf for 20 years at the highest level, and today is the first day that the ball goes in."

“I couldn’t have asked for a better place than the 17th hole at TPC.”