As former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo stood on the driving range of the PGA Tour’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship earlier this week, the sound of the balls he hit was the same as the shots by golfers adjacent to him, according to those Tour professionals - guys who make their living, week in and week out, on the biggest stage in the sport.
That’s because, this week, Romo is one of them.
The former quarterback, and now analyst for CBS, received a special exemption into this week’s Tour event, opposite of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship where most of the top 64 in the Official World Golf Ranking are playing.
Although it may be odd for the casual sports fan to see Romo’s name in the field, his appearance in a professional golf event is not unprecedented.
Jerry Rice, the legendary NFL wide receiver, and Stephen Curry, former NBA MVP and champion with the Golden State Warriors, have both played in Web.com Tour events (Curry as recently as last summer), and country music star Jake Owen will also play in an upcoming Web.com Tour event this year.
The initial critique is that the non-golfers are taking spots away from guys who are trying to make a living doing exactly this. However, sponsors are given at least a handful of unlimited exemptions to give out to whomever they choose - local club professionals, former PGA Tour golfers who may need an opportunity and have been loyal to the event in the past, or, in this case, professional athletes.
And for the Web.com Tour - or even this week’s event, which plays opposite where household names Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, and Justin Thomas are teeing it up - it makes for good exposure.
“Obviously with how the sponsor exemptions go, there was a lot of talk about me taking somebody's spot that's trying to earn a living on this tour. Obviously that's not what the sponsor's exemption is about. There are 154 guys out here that are unbelievable talents that fight every week to do what they do. So to be able to see them up close and personal was a treat for me,” Curry said after participating in the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae last year, via pgatour.com.
Romo shot a 5-over-par 77 in his PGA Tour debut. He was even par on his front nine, bouncing back from starting his day with two straight bogeys to make two straight birdies, one from upwards of 40 feet.
He admitted to reporters he was nervous on the greens and tried to get the speed right as the round chugged along. He said he would play more aggressive on Friday as he tries to do something neither Curry nor Rice could do: make the cut.
“Ultimately over 18 holes … your flaws start to show at some point. That's why you compete. You compete to know how to practice. Then you go from there and improve so the next time you step out here ... I really hit some good shots close and I had a chance to, like I said, be under par pretty easily,” Romo said. “Then two or three shots on the back nine cost me, but that's golf.”
Prior to the tournament getting underway, he talked about the difference between football and golf, besides the obvious. He said, on the mental side, football is reactionary - making decisions after the snap, reacting to the play.
“In golf, you’re trying to commit wholeheartedly to something before you even pull the club out of your bag,” he said.
“I’m not worried about getting hit before I hit the ball, so it’s at my own tempo, my own speed in this sport,” he added with a laugh.
Romo admitted earlier in the week that he knows this may be his only chance to tee it up with the professionals, so he’s doing his best to take advantage of this opportunity.
“I understand how important this week is,” he said. “I told people earlier … it’s like a free agent in football. You’re only afforded so many chances. If you’re the first pick of the draft, you’ve got a few years before they cast you aside. When you get an opportunity in life you want to be prepared and ready for it.”
