Who is Tony Romo?
Tony Romo is a former NFL quarterback who played for the Dallas Cowboys for 14 seasons. He is now one of the leading television analysts in the game, working for CBS Sports. He holds several Dallas franchise records, including the most passing yards and passing touchdowns.
Romo is also known for being very passionate about his golf. He spends every morning at the golf range and has played in the Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro-Am on many occasions.
Over the years, he has golfed with many notable people, including Tiger Woods, Barack Obama, and George W Bush.
Romo’s Golf Game
This week, he will tee it up in his third ever PGA Tour event, the Byron Nelson Championship at Trinity Forest Golf Course, which is Rom’s home course. Romo has twice tried to qualify for the US Open.
Romo is still an amateur but has gotten a sponsor’s invite to this event. He also got a sponsor invite the past two years for the Corales Puntacana Golf and Resort Championship, which takes place in the Dominican Republic.
In his two previous PGA Tour appearances, Romo shot 15 over par, missing the cut by a significant amount. In 2018, he was dead last and he was second to last in 2019.
The main weakness in his game, according to Romo, is his putting. He has put a lot of time in on the practice greens since his last event and has also put a new putter in the bag.
Disgruntlement in Some Circles
Some are not happy that Romo gets these sponsor invites. A lot of pros are struggling to get a PGA Tour card and Romo takes up a valuable place in the field.
Romo responded to these critics by saying to ESPN: “Well, this is what I want to do. This is my livelihood. I think it’s the same as anything. You have to show you have the ability. You don’t just get them randomly. You’ve got to be able to perform at some time in front of somebody who thinks you deserve it. I’ve been practicing . . . and I practice really hard at it, just like a touring pro. Same type of schedule. Mornings you get up, it’s a routine, just like you’re playing football. I understand you only get so many [exemptions], so you’ve got to perform. Hopefully, that time is coming.”
This year’s Byron Nelson Championship is not as strong a field as in other years because the PGA Championship takes place the following week. Therefore, Romo will be an interesting draw for people to attend the event.
Bettors Getting on Board
Romo clearly is not at the level of touring professionals. The two previous tour events he took part in had weaker fields than will be seen this week. Nevertheless, some people still fancy his chance to have a run at the title this week.
According to the Washington Post, at least seven bets have been made on Romo to win this week, at odds of 10,000 to 1. One of these bets had a stake of $100 (£77), meaning that if Romo did the seemingly impossible, this bettor would win a cool $1m (£768,560).
Naturally, these people must think that Romo’s home course advantage will stand him in good stead. He has likely played the course hundreds of times and knows it like the back of his hand.
Some sportsbooks are taking over/under bets on Romo’s opening round score. At the SuperBook in Las Vegas, this over/under is 77.5. There are also markets now on whether he will make the cut or if he will finish last in the field.