PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – If Tony Romo makes a big impression testing the waters on the PGA Tour over the next six weeks, he will have Jordan Spieth to thank.
They play together a lot in Dallas, where Romo was the Cowboys quarterback before retiring to become an NFL TV analyst for CBS.
Romo is playing the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this week as an amateur partner to Will Zalatoris, a former Wake Forest standout playing on a sponsor exemption. Romo made news Wednesday when it was announced he will play the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic on a sponsor exemption March 22-25.
Though Romo is 37 and Spieth 24, it’s Spieth who is mentoring Romo on the golf course.
“I’ll badger him with questions throughout his entire round and then make him wait for me as we hit three more balls to get it right,” Romo said. “So, his longest rounds are definitely when he plays with me, because I make him sit out there all day.”
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Romo is one of three of amateurs playing to a scratch (0) handicap this week. There will be more pressure on Romo playing on a sponsor exemption in the Dominican Republic. There always is when a sponsor invite is offered to a non-traditional player.
“I think that if you play good they will respect you,” Romo said. “If you don’t play good, then you really aren’t going to be respected very well. It’s not rocket science.”
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry missed the cut at the Ellie Mae Classic on the Web.com Tour last summer but earned a lot of respect shooting a pair of 74s.
Spieth is excited to see how Romo does at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this week.
“He’s playing really well,” Spieth said. “His short game is fantastic . . . I have no doubt he’ll shoot under par every round out here, from where they’re playing from. I know he’s really excited for the challenge, and he wants to beat the pros that are in his group. That’s kind of his goal. He thinks he can win this golf tournament if he played it with us.”