Cowboys’ Tony Romo Has Impressive Round On U.S. Open Course
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo met the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge without trouble Friday at Torrey Pines Golf Course, the site of next week’s U.S. Open.
Romo broke 100 with ease, carding a 13-over 84 on the par-71, 7,643-yard South Course.
His score was the best posted in the mostly famous foursome that included pop star Justin Timberlake (27-over 98), Today show co-host Matt Lauer (29-over 100) and the magazine’s essay contest winner John Atkinson (43-over 114).
“Honestly, it’s a situation where they did a great job of setting up the course,” said Romo, who wore a blue Cowboys polo shirt and a blue ballcap with a big D on it.
“It’s a fair test, but it’s also a tough test. If you do hit the ball well, you can put up a decent score.”
Romo was decent in an event that was designed to illustrate just how punishing an Open layout can be.
The round, which was put on by the magazine, NBC Sports and the USGA, was inspired by a Tiger Woods comment after the second round of the Open last year at Oakmont, when the planet’s best golfer stated that no 10-handicapper could hope to break 100 on an Open course.
Romo, however, is no 10-handicapper. He showed up Friday with a 2.2 handicap and stayed relatively steady through the six-hour, 15-minute round – until the final hole, where he found out how sticky the kikuya grass rough could be en route to a double-bogey 7.
“It’s about the same as my practice round,” said Romo, who shot 83 in rehearsal. “It just got very tough to stay mentally sharp, because it took so long. It was fun though. We got to enjoy each other and hang out.”
Romo was 5 over at the turn after mixing five pars with three bogeys and a 4-putt for double-bogey on the par-3 third hole. On the back nine, Romo double-bogeyed 11, bogeyed the next four holes and then made par twice before hitting a big snag on 18.
Throughout the day, Atkinson drew the loudest cheers from the few-hundred strong gallery. The lung cancer survivor, picked from a contest that drew 56,374 entries, seemed unaffected by the score, flashing a toothy grin after almost every shot.
“It’s the most awesome thing ever,” said Atkinson, who started the round with four consecutive bogeys before the wheels fell off with a quadruple-bogey 9 on No. 5. “I still believe that the average golfer can break 100, and I’m looking forward to watching next year.”
NBC plans to air footage of the round before the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday.
- Mirjam Swanson, Riverside Press-Enterprise
