Golf Dallas Cowboys

On Monday, the FanHouse had a story about Tony Romo leaving a golf tournament on the final round after just nine holes because he had to take his girlfriend, Jessica Simpson, to the airport.

The eyebrows were raised on this because Romo was playing with his father, entered the final round with a chance to actually contend for the title and the fact that he, you know, quit. Reports were brought up that Romo actually left for informal workouts with the Cowboys in Dallas, but it must have been some short lived practice, because Tony is back on the links today.

Romo is one of 17 quarterbacks in a field of more than 75 sports stars and celebrities competing in the 19th annual American Century Championship Golf Tournament.

Now I know what you're thinking, he had three days to be in Dallas practicing with his teammates, but no respectable golfer is going to play in a tournament, especially a competitive tournament like this one amongst athletes, without playing at least one practice round. With this quote, you know he isn't showing up on the first tee cold turkey.

"Anything I do, I do competitively," says Romo, who finished 11th last year. "Things like this allow you to feel what it's like to put yourself in a position where there is pressure on you. The more times you can put yourself in that position, the better you'll become at it."

Remember that time Tiger Woods was in contention at the British Open, stumbled a little on the front nine and decided to walk off the golf course because Elin wanted to grab lunch?

Oh, you don't? That's probably because Tony Romo is the only famous athlete with a whip wrapped around his, well, you know.

Tony Romo, a native of Burlington, Wis., was home visiting family and decided to join his father, Ramiro, in the Ray Fischer 72-hole Amateur Championship at Riverside Golf Course in Janesville, an event run by the Wisconsin Public Links Association.

The Dallas Cowboys' quarterback, a two handicapper, started well, shooting 69 and 70, five under par, and was tied for third (in a 172-man field) after Saturday's second round. He shot a 74 in the third round on Sunday morning and was fading on the front side of the final 18 when he withdrew and left in a hurry. The reason? He had to get girlfriend Jessica Simpson to the airport.

So you're playing golf with your dad, who is probably so happy he's staring down at those poor souls on cloud nine, and you just jet on him to pick up your girlfriend, when the relationship has always been a bit stubbly, to take her to the airport? Not to get all SNL on you, but really? You're the Dallas Cowboy quarterback and she's made such blockbuster hits as "Blonde Ambition" and you can't afford a rental service?

I have a few rules with sports and relationships, and a big one is if you've committed to an event, whether it's a softball tournament, round of golf or even a keg stand competition, you never leave your buddies while they're holding your feet in the air.

Update: Believe what you want, but according to the DMN Cowboys blog, the reason Romo left is because of "informal workouts." Umm, OK.

The Dallas Morning News' Tim MacMahon must've known the poopstorm this would cause, but I give him credit for running with it anyway. He goes about the task of ranking the quarterbacks and has the audacity to put Tony Romo fifth behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Drew Brees.

Predictably, some Cowboys fans thought Romo was ranked way too low (oddly, nobody thought he was ranked too high), and proceeded to tell us as much. While I have no problems with MacMahon's list, the most intriguing piece of news comes courtesy of commenter Gigante who points to this link and asks, "And this is supposed to make me feel good?"

"You're Phil Mickelson before he won his first major." - Cowboys coach Wade Wilson to quarterback Tony Romo, who has yet to win a playoff game.

First, when I saw "Wade", I just figured it was Phillips and he had confused "Phil Mickelson" with "Brett Favre when he was in Atlanta." It's definitely plausible.

But Wade Wilson? Was he trying to motivate Romo? I mean, it would've been less insulting to say, "If Dr. Frankenstein found a way to combine the worst qualities of Drew Bledsoe, Vinny Testaverde and Quincy Carter, it would be you."

That Romo even made it into MacMahon's top 5 is a testament to his perseverance. In retrospect, maybe Roger Goodell's suspension wasn't harsh enough.

The Dallas Morning News' Albert Breer is not impressed with you, Tiger Woods. Sure, you had a double stress fracture and a torn ACL, walked more than 21 miles over five days, and gave one of the grittiest performances in major championship history, but, apparently, it wasn't enough. You want tough? How about ... Philip Rivers? Really?

Breer tries to explain:

...[L]et's stop with all the breathless homages. Put the Purple Heart away. While there was some appreciation for it, I don't remember all this slobbering over someone going on in January, after Philip Rivers did something far more impressive. He played in a football game, in freezing conditions, against a 17-0 team through a similar injury.

Well, I did my fair share of slobbering, and I'm not even a Philip Rivers fan. That said, I think it's ridiculous to compare the two. Breer admits to appreciating Tiger's accomplishment, and calls the feat impressive, but adds, "Is [comparing Woods to Philips] even close. No. Way."

He falls into the lazy trap of saying that all Tiger did was "hit golf balls," because "last time I checked, there are plenty of people who aren't in very good physical condition who can endure 18 holes." First, did you really check? I'm guessing no. Second, have you seen Grady Jackson, Sebastian Janikowski or Jared Lorenzen? Am I grossly oversimplifying things? Exactly.

But Breer's readers make my point better than I do:

I think it says a whole lot when professional football players have only laudatory things to say about golf. It used to be that golf was the refuge of the rich and unathletic; now, thanks to Tiger Woods, everybody plays the sport, and not only that, they aren't afraid to admit it.

The Monday before the U.S. Open Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo played Torrey Pines in a made-for-television event and carded an 84. That's unbelievably impressive given that the course was in Open conditions, and Romo's somewhere around a scratch golfer.

After Woods' improbable-but-you-knew-it-was-coming victory two days ago, Romo was in awe. Just like the rest of us:

"More than anything I think it's just his ability to focus late ... That's such a neat quality. His ability to slow down. If you watch he takes more time than anybody in the planet on the final three, four holes. But he plays quick, he does it quick. But as soon as it gets to the important stage, he [is] as slow as he wants to be like he's on the range by himself ... That's a great quality to have.

True that. I've heard that Woods, as part of his mental toughness training, also practices breathing techniques to help keep his composure late in tournaments. It seems to be working.

We're almost through the first round of the U.S. Open and as far as these things go, the scoring has been pretty respectable. Kevin Streelman is atop the leaderboard at 4-under, and there are currently 27 players at even par or better.

Earlier this week, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo teed it up at Torrey Pines, site of the Open, and fired a 84 from the tips. That's like Tim Herron rushing for 100 yards in a NFL preseason game.* Pretty impressive.

The Dallas Morning News' Todd Archer caught up with Romo yesterday to get his U.S. Open predictions, and to get his take on the course set-up:

"I think 5 under, 4 under [wins it]," Romo said. "[Concerning the course it's r]eal tough. It was definitely the hardest course I ever played. The length, the rough, how firm the greens were, the tightness of the fairways, a little bit of wind, so the combination of all of them together, it was hard."

I was sorta hoping Sergio Garcia would put up a 90 so I could make the predictable "Romo's better than El Niño!" observation, but after going out in 41, he's playing even par through 16 holes. So much for that.

If Romo had been in the field today, he would currently be tied for 152nd, which is good for next-to-last. Of course, the difference in the course from Monday to Thursday is probably worth four or five strokes. Still, an amateur breaking 90 from 7,600 yards three days before the Open is mind-boggling.

* Slight exaggeration since it's not clear Herron has ever actually run 100 yards.

One reason the Dallas Cowboys are seriously considering drafting a quarterback almost certainly has everything to do with Tony Romo's off-field behavior and very little to do with his on-field productivity (well, save this forgettable mishap).

Between all the Jessica Simpson stuff and Romo's other salacious hobby, it's a wonder the Cowboys are looking to move on. That's right, Romo spent the last two days ... playing tournament golf.

After opening with a 73, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo shot an 80 in the second round of the Azalea Invitational at the Country Club of Charleston (S.C.) on Friday, leaving him tied for 52nd entering the weekend.

But that's not all: in June, Romo will play in the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge at Torrey Pines, and he's scheduled to appear with Justin Timberlake and Matt Lauer!

Last year I gave Romo the business for playing golf when he should've been, I don't know, doing something football-related. Now, though, I'm fine with it. I'm pretty sure squeezing in 36 holes over two days won't have much effect on his 2008 season. Plus, the guy's pretty good; players use the off-season to pursue non-job-related interests, whether it's golf, chugging ice cream, or touring the strip-club circuit.