What a difference a week makes.
Two Fridays ago, Alejandro Tosti and Wilson Furr found themselves at the center of controversy after they were among six players penalized for taking an unauthorized shuttle during the Korn Ferry Tour’s Lecom Suncoast Classic. Furr’s two-shot penalty cost him a made cut while Tosti’s eventually cost him a top-20 finish.
But on Sunday, both players had bounced back in big ways. Tosti closed in 7-under 64 to tie for 10th at the PGA Tour’s Mexico Open and punch his ticket into next week’s $20 million Wells Fargo Championship. Furr, meanwhile, used a second-round 61 to propel him to a T-7 finish at the KFT’s HomeTown Lenders Championship, which was shortened to 54 holes because of weather.
“I’ve been playing really good for a long time,” Tosti said, “and I’m very happy that a good round showed up in good timing.”
This week’s Mexico Open marked Tosti’s third career Tour appearance. He also tied for 39th last fall at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The Argentine is currently No. 30 in KFT points, right on the bubble, so his strong performance at Vidanta made skipping a valuable KFT start well worth it. Tosti’s final round featured four birdies and a pair of eagles, from 21 feet at the par-5 18th hole, his ninth hole of the day, and from 15 feet at the par-5 sixth.
“I had an amazing round today,” Tosti said. “I’m very happy with the overall result, but I’m very proud for the way I hung in there. The beginning was not what I expected. I started early in the morning, and I was hoping to have a hot start and the putts kept going by the hole, and I kept telling myself to stay patient. Walking off the eighth green, I left that putt like 2 feet short for birdie and I’m like, ‘Wow, I feel so good, I’ve been putting so good, and I know they’re coming.’ … I just kept trying, and I knew good stuff was going to come.”
It did. And it did for Furr as well.
After his heartbreaking missed cut in Florida, Furr figured he’d reshuffle out of future events. But he got into the field in Huntsville, Alabama, on his own number. Though he couldn’t keep his hot play going Sunday afternoon, he still did enough – even-par 70 – to move from No. 152 to No. 78, and following the next reshuffle, which takes place after the next three events, Furr will have no trouble getting into tournaments the rest of the season.