Tony Romo Anxious but Ready for His PGA TOUR Debut

All eyes are sure to be on the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play this weekend, but there is another event taking place in the Caribbean that fans should be interested in. And it includes a familiar, yet surprising face.

It hasn’t drawn nearly as much media attention as Stephen Curry’s pro golf debut on the Web.com Tour but Tony Romo is set to play on the PGA TOUR this week in the Dominican Republic at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Romo confirmed that he would be playing on an exemption a few weeks ago but there hasn’t been much talk since.

Now, just one day before he tees off in the sunshine, Romo sounds anxious but excited to get out there.

“Golf obviously wasn’t my sport most of my life, but I’ve put in a lot of time preparing for this, so I’ll be prepared to play the best I am capable of this week,” Romo told Golf Digest. “I’m not putting in any expectations on myself, like you guys I’m anxious to see what that is, what level is that I don’t know.”

Tony Romo is seen during the 2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on…

Tony Romo is seen during the 2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on February 9, 2018 in Pebble Beach, California. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

While many are excited to see how Romo performs in a professional event, there are also a lot of skeptics. Many people criticized the Web.com Tour allowing Steph Curry to play and many of those same people have a problem with Romo teeing it up. Most of this animosity comes from the “Mark Rypien Rule” which generally prevents celebrities from gaining exemptions. Rypien, a former Redskins QB, received one in 1992 but finished last by 13 strokes, 28 back from the cut line.

The complaints also stem from the idea that the celebrities are taking some hard-fought spots away from other Web.com and PGA TOUR hopefuls who would love a spot in the field.

But Romo is a different player. He has played in pro-ams for several years and has even attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open, shooting 80 and 82 in two previous qualifiers. And he carries a 0.3 handicap, compared to Curry’s 0.7 despite struggling in individual tournaments in the past.

Surprisingly the betting sites seem to like him, as he’s a +900 in the odds to win the tournament or a 10% chance. That’s pretty good for your first event ever.

Romo is set to tee off tomorrow at 8:10 a.m. EST and the Golf Channel will pick up live coverage at 10:30. By that time, we should know if Romo is a legit contender or not.

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