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Tony Romo accepts third PGA Tour sponsor exemption, will tee it up later this month

March 06, 2019
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am - Round Three

Jed Jacobsohn

Unlike former Dallas Cowboys teammate Jason Witten, Tony Romo seems happy to keep his day job as a TV football analyst. However, that doesn't mean the ex-quarterback isn't also going to continue pursuing his pro golf dreams.

The PGA Tour announced on Wednesday that Romo has accepted a sponsor's exemption to compete in the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship later this month (March 28-31). This will mark the second consecutive year Romo has played in the event. Romo had previously accepted a sponsor's exemption to play in the AT&T Byron Nelson in May.

“Golf has been a passion of mine throughout my life, giving me another athletic outlet to hone my skills and compete,” Romo said in a statement. “The opportunity to compete at the highest levels of golf, the PGA Tour event, was a dream come true for me. I’m thankful to the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship for inviting me to join them once again this year, and I’m excited at the chance to compete against the best of the best.”

Romo missed the cut by 16 shots in his PGA Tour debut in the Dominican Republic last year. Overall, though, he had a pretty successful year on the golf course. Romo won the American Century Championship—the Super Bowl of celebrity golf—in Tahoe, won an amateur golf tournament in Wisconsin by nine shots, and made it out of Q School pre-qualifying.

Celebrity golfers playing in high-level tournaments has become more prevalent of late—and the performances have been getting more impressive. NBA star Stephen Curry fired an opening 71 in his second start at the Web.com Tour's Ellie Mae Classic in August, former pitcher Mark Mulder shot 75-74 at the PGA Tour's Safeway Classic in October, and just last week, MLB Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz shot one over and finished T-53 (out of 78 players) at the PGA Tour Champions' Cologuard Classic. Smoltz has two more sponsor exemptions lined up this year on the senior tour.

Romo will retain his amateur status when he makes his second PGA Tour start at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Last year, Brice Garnett won the event while recent Honda Classic winner Keith Mitchell finished runner-up.