The Dallas Cowboys quarterback plays 18 more holes Monday afternoon in a 36-hole sectional qualifier at The Club at Carlton Woods, just north of Houston. If he finishes in the top two of the 36-man field, he'll earn a spot in next week's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Casey Clendenon, a former U.S. Amateur semifinalist, shot a 5 under 67 to lead the first round of qualifying. Craig Kanada, Roland Thatcher -- both of whom have spent time on the PGA Tour, joined A.J. Elgert at 4 under, with Robert Gates, Bob Estes and Will Dodson at 3 under. A dozen players, including Romo, broke par, including former PGA Championship winner Steve Elkington, who shot 70.
The United States Golf Association says Romo would become the fourth athlete from a professional team sport to qualify for the U.S. Open. He would join a group that includes former San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie (1959, '81), former New York Yankees outfielder Sam Byrd (1938-41, 46-47, 1949-51) and former NHL player Bill Ezinicki (1947, '52, '56, '60-61, 63-64, 67-68).
NFL kickers Ryan Longwell and Josh Scobee and former major league pitcher John Smoltz failed to advance out of local qualifying this year, according to the USGA. Former NHL goalkeeper Grant Fuhr, retired tennis players Ivan Lendl and Michael Chang and former Miami tight end Brian Kinchen have also fallen short in qualifying in recent years.
Romo had to endure a weather delay early in the day. Romo was 2-over par after five holes when air horns halted play about 10:30 a.m. local time. Radar showed heavy thunderstorms just east of the course. He returned to the course two hours later.
Follow Romo's bid
Romo survived a four-man playoff May 20 to advance to the sectional qualifier. Romo passed up a qualifier for the Byron Nelson Championship that week because it conflicted with a Cowboys practice. The NFL team resumes offseason training activities Tuesday.
The star quarterback drew a crowd of about 20 fans as he hit balls on the practice range a half-hour before his tee time. A few of them wore Cowboys hats and shirts and one 11-year-old boy wore a blue Romo jersey.
Romo got polite applause when he was introduced by the starter on the first tee, waved to the fans and said, "Thanks, I appreciate it." He hooked his first drive toward a cluster of trees lining the No. 1 fairway, but scrambled for a par.
The 30-year-old Romo took a triple bogey on the par-5 fourth after hooking his drive on the water-lined hole. He botched two pitch shots from deep rough along the edge of the pond, hit his approach into a greenside bunker and two-putted from about 20 feet for an 8.
Romo dropped his approach to the par-4 fifth hole about 10 feet away and sank the putt for his first birdie. A young fan said, "Nice birdie," as Romo walked off the green and the quarterback answered, "I appreciate you."
Air horns sounded off seconds later.
"See you guys in a little bit, hopefully," Romo said to the fans as the cart drove away.
Play resumed at approximately 12:30 p.m. CT -- a delay of about two hours.
Wearing a light blue shirt, khaki shorts and a white baseball cap, Romo arrived at the practice range about 8 a.m. and hardly got a second glance from the players already hitting balls.
Romo munched on an energy bar and hit wedges with one hand as fans gradually gathered and clicked photos with their cell phones.
Tony Rodriguez, 61, a Cowboys season ticket holder who lives in the Houston suburbs, planned to walk with Romo all day.
"I wanted to come and see him. I'd never seen him play golf," Rodriguez said. "I'm just a fan of the Cowboys; I just came to cheer for him. I follow the Cowboys everywhere."
Josh Friedman, 11, wore a blue Romo jersey as he watched the quarterback with his father, Dan.
"It's kind of exciting; it's interesting," Dan Friedman said. "He's a pretty good athlete. Football is such a commitment, so you wouldn't think he'd be able to practice golf, at least not to the extent of other pro golfers."
Primera Liga round-upDallas Cowboys’ Tony Romo pars three playoff holes, advances in U.S. Open qualifying
