Romo excited for Friday at CoralesRomo excited for Friday at Corales
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – After battling nerves early, former NFL quarterback Tony Romo fought back for a respectable opening-round score of 7-over-par 79 at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Making his second TOUR start in the Dominican Republic, Romo had a tough day off the tee, hitting just 21 percent of his fairways. He missed a few short putts early – and bogeyed three of his first four holes – before getting into a bit of a groove. He lost his tee-shot on the tough par-4 8th, leading to a triple-bogey 7. However, on the tougher back nine at Corales, Romo was just 1-over. He said after his round there were some “signs of life.â€� “I got comfortable and the last 10 holes or so (and) hit some good shots. Just got to keep getting comfortable and playing golf in these types of situations and it starts to get easier,â€� he said. Romo’s coach, Andy Traynor, was out following his pupil all 18 holes. He said Romo could out-work anyone, and was playing very well coming into the week. But Romo admitted after his round that tournament golf is just a different animal. “I think a lot of this is just tournament golf in general. We work on stuff and then all of a sudden you have a different wind direction, it’s a little down and it’s a front flag and it’s like it needs to be flighted a different way than you normally would, stuff like that,â€� said Romo. “It’s just a little harder than what you see.â€� Romo played with Texan Kramer Hickok (1-under 71), who he’s played with a few times at home, and Denny McCarthy (3-under-par 69), who he played with in 2018. McCarthy – who said he had a combination of confidence and knowing he played well here a year ago (he finished T-7) as contributing factors to his hot start – said Romo didn’t have his best day, but it was evident that he eased into the round. “He played great after the 8th hole. He even mentioned it, he was a little tentative and nervous but played carefree coming in,â€� said McCarthy. “I got to know him pretty well last year and we had some nice conversations out there. It was a comfortable pairing for all of us.â€� Romo said he has improved a lot in certain areas of his game since 2018 and he’s eager for another crack at Corales on Friday. “I feel like I always want to be improving, but the score doesn’t always show that,â€� he said. “But for me the progression is going well and just have to stay at it. I think I’m going to play better tomorrow.â€�
