Well, it was an event worth celebrating for sure. Alejandro Tosti swung his club just like any other time at the famed Island Green aka 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass. The ball landed right on the island, a bit ahead of the pin. But it did not stop there, as it rolled back ever so slowly. Time stood still as Tosti’s ball went inside the pin.

Then pandemonium! A very ecstatic Tosti started running to the pond. He paused momentarily, only to be pushed inside the pond to take a celebratory swim. It was indeed a special occasion, made all the more special by the way it was celebrated. It was only practice and not competition. But despite that, there is one more moment to add to the list of iconic occasions at the TPC Sawgrass.

Alejandro Tosti recalls hole-in-one at TPC Sawgrass

Speaking about the occasion, Tosti did not mince words. “Well, It’s definitely one of my highlights in my golf career,” he stated.

The Argentine recalled just previously at the 8 Hole, he had made an oath to the media people that if he made an ace at the Island Green, he would jump into the water. Coincidentally, merely a few hours later, that ended up happening and Tosti duly jumped into the water. “I was with the media people from the PGA Tour. And they did kind of a walking interview. I went ahead and said, ‘I never had a hole-in-one and if I get a hole-in-one on hole 17 I am jumping in the water.’”

This is a special moment for the 28-year-old Tosti, who despite extensive golfing experience, via tournaments and practice rounds and so on, has never made an ace. To have it happen in such fashion at one of the iconic courses in the golfing world is something noteworthy .“I have played golf for 22 years now since I am 6 years old. Never had the opportunity to make the hole-in-one.”

Tosti’s celebration turned out to be even more viral than the hole-in-one itself. He was running to the pond but stopped as he was unsure whether to jump in. However, his caddie had his back, literally! “I was straight running into the lake. I was going to dive and I kind of stopped right before jumping and I said ‘Should I jump or not?’  He tackled me.” A very excited Tosti stated.

It was then that Tosti revealed a concerning bit that had skipped his mind while jumping into the pool. “I kind of thought like ‘oh my god there are gators are here, so I better get out of here’ and my buddy was able to pull me out.”

That is indeed a big concern!

Gordon Davis, who was a professional golf ball driver at the TPC Sawgrass always used to carry a gator knife with him as protection. “You can’t be afraid of gators and snakes. I’ve run into them, seen them at the bottom, but never been hit.”

Safe to say, Tosti would not be making a jump-into-the-pond oath anytime soon again. But the hole-in-ones at the TPC Sawgrass this year did not stop with Tosti’s wild attempt. There were two more exemplary aces from two more brilliant people from two different walks of life. However, the celebrations were not as spectacular as Tosti’s.

JJ Jakovac and Keegan Bradley with aces

After Tosti, in a similar situation Collin Morikawa’s caddie, JJ Jakovac also went viral after he shot an ace at the famed Island Green. The smooth stroke went on a similar trajectory to Tosti’s hitting the green ahead of the pin before rolling back. The caddie’s shot was taken on camera by Morikawa who posted the same video with the caption “Does it get better than this?”

For Keegan Bradley, it did get better than Jakovac. The Team USA captain pulled off a spectacular move at the 181-yard 13 hole during the final round of play. His tee shot landed on the right side of the pin before rolling in smoothly for the only ace during this year’s PLAYERS Championship. Bradley finished T20 thanks to his spectacular eagle, ending with a 4 under par for the tournament.

Bradley’s is the 13 ace on the 13 hole at TPC Sawgrass, with the likes of Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, and Fred Couples also doing the same. The last hole-in-one on the 13 came in 2019, courtesy of Sungjae Im.

Just like Jakovac and Bradley, Alejandro Tosti is going to remember his ace for a long time. But he will be using that as motivation to push for one during live competition rather than practice. Do you think the Argentine can find one more ace in the bag this season on the PGA Tour?