Tony Romo's first round on the PGA Tour was extremely eventful
If you want to watch any of Tony Romo’s PGA Tour debut this weekend, here’s some friendly advice.
You better watch his round on Friday, because it’s looking almost impossible for him to make the cut.
After a solid front nine, in terms of scoring, Romo blew up on the back nine with a 41 and finished his first round with a 5-over par 77 at the Corales Punta Cana Resort and Club Championship.
“I was nervous,” Romo admitted after the round. “Just tried to rely on my mechanics and fundamentals and just swing.”
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback had his battles with the bogeyman all afternoon, including two on his first two holes.
But he managed to make two long birdie putts on the fourth and fifth holes, getting him back to even.
Tony Romo goes DEEP! Back-to-back birdies get the former quarterback back to even par thru 6 @CoralesChamp. pic.twitter.com/3jDM7bDNOK
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 22, 2018
.@TonyRomo is walking in putts!
He's even par through 10 holes.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/yin7WpK6kp
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 22, 2018
After a bogey on the par-5 seventh, Romo knocked in his third birdie of the day at the eighth hole, and made the turn at even par.
He remained at even par until the 13th hole, when he had another bogey. That was followed by a double bogey at 14, and bogeys at 15 and 16. He managed to par the final two holes, but still finished with a 77.
Romo’s score was better than only one other player who had a morning tee time — that would be Guy Boros, who had a 79.
“I had a couple of three-putts early in the round, that’s just nerves,” Romo said. “I hit a lot of good shots, but … three putts add up.”
A closer look at Romo’s round shows some respectable numbers. He averaged 288 off the tee, hit 50 percent of greens in regulation and averaged just fewer than two putts per hole.
On Tuesday, he said he had been dedicated in his preparation for this week’s event.
“I’ll be treating it very serious,” Romo told reporters Tuesday. “My wife will tell you she hasn’t seen me much over the last month. But if you know me at all, I think you know if I care about something I’m going to commit to it 100 percent. So like I said, you’ll get the best I’ve got this week.”
American Bruce Garnett was the early first-round leader with a 9-under 63.
Romo’s wedge game really struggled on the back nine, an area of his game he admitted Tuesday was not up to Tour standards.
“Ultimately, over 18 holes or 72 holes, your flaws start to show at some point,” he said. “Two or three shots on the back nine cost me.”
Romo, whose handicap is plus-0.3, tried to qualify for the U.S. Open last year at a qualifying event in Texas but shot 75, missing the cut to advance to the next qualifying round by six shots.
He is playing this week as an amateur on a sponsor’s exemption. Most of the Tour’s biggest names are playing in Austin, Texas, at the WGC-Dell Match Play Championships.
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