Of the 9,049 players who signed up to try and qualify for the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current CBS broadcaster Tony Romo is probably the most famous. Perhaps a glutton for punishment, or more likely, a certified golf nut, Romo has shown the admirable quality of putting himself and his talent on the line for the world to see.
Pro Shoots 127 in U.S. Open Local Qualifier
Romo once again tried to secure a spot in the most democratic golf tournament in the world on Monday, participating in the Gleneagles Country Club local qualifier. Romo could only muster two birdies against five bogeys and one double bogey en route to a 5-over par 77 that ultimately left him six shots out of qualifying through to the sectional qualifier and seven shots out of a playoff for an alternate spot.
Tony Romo’s final card. 77 (+5)
31 putts (15/16)
7/13 FIR
10/18 GIR pic.twitter.com/LMwgBUDAK6— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) April 30, 2018
Romo’s round was tracked on the ground by WFAA’s Mike Leslie, a local Dallas sports reporter. It began with a 10-footer for par that slid by the left edge.
Tony Romo slides the par putt past, and settles for bogey on the 1st hole at Gleneagles Country Club. #USOpenQualifier pic.twitter.com/v8bTG4nHZY
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) April 30, 2018
Pars followed on Nos. 2 and 3 before a missed green on the fourth led to a bogey. He got the stroke right back on the par-5 5th hole, only to drop two more strokes on the 6th hole after chunking a flop shot into the water.
Romo looking to get up & down out of the bunker on 10. Nice sand shot gives him a chance. Birdie putt falls, and he moves back to +2 for the day. #USOpenQualifier pic.twitter.com/8L6RfpC8WL
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) April 30, 2018
Romo birdied the par-5 10th hole to get to back to 2-over par for the round, but bogeys at the Nos. 12 and 14 doomed his comeback bid. A final water ball and dropped shot at the par-5 16th moved him to 5-over par and sealed his fate.
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Romo has once made it through local qualifying, firing a 69 in 2010 to advance, but he’ll have to wait another year to try again.
500 local qualifiers around the country join 450 exempt at sectional qualifying to round out the tournament field for the U.S. Open. Among those advancing out of Romo’s local qualifier was Baylor University’s Braden Bailey, one of Romo’s playing partners, who shot a 3-under par 69.
The complete local qualifier scoreboard can be found here.
