Former Dallas Cowboys star Tony Romo, now among the highest-paid announcers in sports, “eats and breathes golf,” according to Masters runner-up and Plano, Texas native Will Zalatoris, who said he played with Romo up to five times a week when the PGA paused during the COVID pandemic last spring. “He’s sending me swing videos at 11:30 some nights,” said Zalatoris, describing Romo’s golf obsession to Dan “Big Cat” Katz and PFT Commenter on their Barstool podcast, Pardon My Take. “I’m like, ‘Dude, go to bed.’”
Zalatoris, now the 28th-ranked player in the world, says he’s been golfing with Romo for two or three years. A typical round together usually consists of Romo bombarding Zalatoris with questions, which the 24-year-old admits can get exhausting. “He always asks non-stop questions. When he’s on my team, he’s the greatest teammate ever. But when you’re playing against him, it’s like, ‘What did you hit? How far? Where’s the wind going?’ I’m like, ‘Oh my god.’”
Romo’s prowess on the links is well-documented (he’s essentially a scratch golfer), but is he good enough to play on tour? “His good days are totally good enough to play at tour level,” said Zalatoris, acknowledging how dominant Romo can be when he’s firing on all cylinders. “He’s a great chipper and putter. He’s a pretty good iron player. For him, it’s just getting off the tee. I give him three shots a side in our games, so he gets six shots total. If he drives it well, it’s going to be really hard for me to beat him.”
The talent is obviously there but Zalatoris wants to see more consistency out of Romo, who carded a disappointing 77 (+6) in his opening round Thursday on the Korn Ferry circuit, a stepping stone for players hoping to eventually reach the PGA Tour. “When he drives it well, he’s going to make five or six birdies and that means I’m going to have to shoot 63 or 64 to beat him. And he’s capable of doing it,” said Zaltoris. “But it’s just the days where he starts missing fairways and all of a sudden makes two or three birdies instead and shoots 75 or 76. That’s the difference.”
While Romo, who is tied for last place at the Veritex Bank Championship in Arlington (despite chipping in for eagle on the Par-5 10th hole), probably won’t make the cut this time, Zalatoris doesn’t think that will deter the former quarterback in his quest to become a PGA fixture. “It’s just nonstop. He hits golf balls every day. If family dinner is at six, he’s like, ‘Oh, that means I can leave at six.' It’s like, dude, go home. Get out of here. Come back tomorrow. You’ve been hitting balls for eight hours today.”
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