A dismal four-hole stretch doomed what looked to be a promising PGA Tour debut for former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo in the Dominican Republic.
Romo sank three birdies on the front nine at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, including a mammoth putt from across the green on the fifth hole.
He nearly drained an eagle on the par-4 8th hole.
"We had it going for a little bit," Romo told Golf.com. "I had a chance to be under par pretty easily for a while."
Romo was even-par through 12 holes, but Nos. 13-16 would prove to be the broadcaster’s demise. He followed a bogey on 13 by taking six shots to reach the green on the par-5 14th, where he took a double-bogey.
Holes 15 and 16 each saw Romo slice his drive to the right and settle for bogey.
The final tally for Romo in his 5-over, 77 round: Five pars, three birdies, six bogeys and a double-bogey. The 2017 Sports Illustrated Media Person of the Year would finish tied for 130th.
LINK: PGA leaderboard
Back in February, Romo was granted a sponsor’s exemption for the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.
What’s a sponsor’s exemption? Here’s how Golf Digest explains it:
PGA Tour vice president of communications Joel Schuchmann explained to Golf Digest that unrestricted sponsor's exemptions (spots that don’t have to be used for other PGA Tour pros) can be granted to any amateurs provided they have a USGA handicap of 0.0 or better. Romo currently owns a +0.3 handicap.
He has tried a number of times to qualify for the AT&T Byron Nelson and the U.S. Open but has never made the field.
