The Initial Delay

The drama began when Lee took over 12 minutes to address an unplayable ball on the eighth hole. His caddie, Bo Martin, advised him to drop the ball and opt for a simpler approach. Lee ultimately conceded a par save—a 6-footer—which proved to be the decisive factor in his one-shot victory over Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland.

Controversy with Tosti

Throughout the lengthy delay, reports surfaced of Tosti engaging in a conversation with a rules official, observed by on-course reporter Jim “Bones” Mackay. Mackay relayed that Tosti appeared unhappy with the length of Lee’s delay. “I thought he was a little bit disrespectful to Fox on the first hole today when Tosti was taking a drop,” Mackay reported.

Adding to the tension, cameras later captured Tosti walking over a hundred yards behind Lee and Fox on the 12th hole. Mackay continued, I don’t know what’s going on, but Tosti is playing at his own pace. At times, it’s normal. At times, it’s glacially slow. But he’s decided on this particular hole to really take his time, and he’s holding up play in this last group.

Previous Controversy & Player Reactions

Tosti’s behavior isn’t new to the Houston Open. Last year, he and Tony Finau were involved in a dispute concerning the order of putting. Tosti told Golf Channel, They took that incident to the next level and made a bunch of things and said a lot of things about me,” adding that the situation significantly impacted his family. NBC analyst Kevin Kisner, observing the situation, suggested, If it was me, I’d just walk over to Tosti and say, ‘What are you doing, bro?’

Key Takeaway

Despite the distractions, Lee secured his first victory on the PGA Tour. The incident underscores the challenges of maintaining pace of play in professional golf and the potential for disagreements between players. As Lee remarked in his press conference, “It was a bit of a backup, so we were waiting every hole.”