Tony Romo withdrew from a North Texas PGA Players Tour event at Bridlewood Golf Club north of Dallas on Thursday after shooting an 81 in the first round and making it halfway through his second. The 81 in Round 1 included a 9-over 45 on the front nine (he was even on the back). A score of 61-67 won the tournament by five strokes.
Romo was 2 over through his second round before he withdrew to catch a flight. The low mark for Romo was a 10 on the par-5 second hole on the front nine. He added two other bogeys and a triple on that side. He also had three bogeys and a birdie during his second round. Romo was 11 over before the WD.
It's not the greatest look for somebody who's about to make his PGA Tour debut at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship later this month. However, it wasn't all bad news for Romo. Paul Stankowski, two-time winner on the PGA Tour, was impressed with Romo's game despite his score.
Paul Stankowski, who played with Tony Romo in this week's North Texas PGA event: "I think he has a pretty good game. He has a realistic shot of making the cut in the Dominican Republic. The ball makes the proper sound coming off the club."
— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) February 28, 2018
Romo played 27 holes. Shot 81-38.
Chris O’Connell confirmed that he and Andy Traynor from Plane Truth Golf have been coaching Tony Romo “for a couple months.” O’Connell probably best known for resurrecting Matt Kuchar’s career. Also coaches Hunter Mahan.
— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) March 1, 2018
There will be much made of Romo getting a sponsor exemption on the PGA Tour, and he knows how he plays matters. Especially in the wake of Steph Curry's impressive 74-74 run at a Web.com Tour event last year.
"Well, you got to go play," Romo told PGATour.com. "You never know how good you are until you go play and perform. Ultimately, obviously the odds going against these guys are not great. I think we all know that.
"I think that if you play good they will respect you. If you don't play good, then you really aren't going to be respected very well. It's not rocket science."
Romo and partner Will Zalatoris missed the amateur cut (although Zalatoris made the pro cut) at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am after shooting 65-63-70 in the first three rounds.
"He's an inspiration to me because he has so much self-confidence while also being one of the most humble guys I've ever met in my life," Zalatoris told the Winston-Salem Journal about Romo. "I was really bummed we couldn't play Sunday together. I learned a lot from him this week, and I know I will continue to learn from him in the future. We had a great first three days together, and I hope he doesn't fire me as his partner in the coming years."
