Romo Watch
Tony Romo gets off to rough start at Q School, needs a miracle (or two) to advance to next stage
Isaiah Vazquez
Tony Romo is going to need a miracle (or two... or three) to advance past the pre-qualifying stage of PGA Tour Q School.
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback-turned NFL on CBS analyst opened with an 11-over 83 on Wednesday in Kansas. Romo triple-bogeyed the opening par 4 at Sand Creek Station Golf Club, then bogeyed two of the next three holes, both par 5s, to start five over through four.
Romo settled in with pars on the fifth and sixth holes but a double bogey at the par-3 seventh just about ended all hope. He turned in eight-over 44 before coming in with a three-over 39 that featured two birdies, two pars and five bogeys.
Credit to Romo for sticking around and battling, which placed him in a tie for 68th at day's end, which was not dead last. Four players shot worse scores, one of them an 18-over 90.
At 11 over, though, Romo will need an act of God to advance to the next stage. There are 33 qualifyng spots in the 73-man field, and after one round there are 35 players at two over or better. That's a nine-stroke deficit he'll have to make up in just two rounds. In football terms, Romo is down by 28 points late in the third quarter.
Romo has advanced past pre-qualifying before. Back in 2018, he finished the pre-qualifying stage at Lantana G.C. in Argyle, Texas, at two-over par, putting him right on the qualifying number. He's since tried two more times, failing to advance in both instances. His second round in Kansas is already underway but no live scores are available yet.