08-15-2018, 11:24 AM
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is making his PGA Tour debut next month in the Dominican Republic.
As a player Joe Thomas Jersey , not a broadcaster.
Romo, now the lead NFL analyst for CBS Sports, has received a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Puntacana Resort & Club Championship on March 22-25. The first-year event is held opposite the Dell Technologies Match Play, a World Golf Championships event that attracts the top 64 in the world.
”You never know how good you are until you go play and perform,” Romo said Wednesday. ”Obviously, the odds going against these guys are not great. I think we all know that. But I think that’s what makes it really fun and enjoyable. I also think that the challenge that’s presented is what a competitor really wants.”
He joins a short list of athletes who have tried to compete against those who play for a living.
Mark Rypien, the former Washington Redskins quarterback, played the Kemper Open in 1992. He shot rounds of 80-91 and missed the cut by 27 shots.
Ken Harrelson, an All-Star outfielder for the Boston Red Sox in 1968, qualified for the 1972 British Open at Muirfield and missed the cut by one shot. John Brodie qualified for the U.S. Open while playing for the San Francisco 49ers and later won on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.
Most recently, Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry played a Web.com Tour event outside San Francisco. He shot 74-74 and missed the cut by 11 shots.
Tournaments are allotted unrestricted exemptions – Michelle Wie received them when she was a teenager – and there invariably are complaints from other players who might feel as though he is taking a spot from someone who has a better chance.
”I know a lot of these guys Calvin Ridley Youth Jersey , so I’ll just tell them, `Get out there. Let’s play a couple rounds and see what happens.’ I’ll joke with them a little bit,” Romo said. ”But I think if you play good, they will respect you. If you don’t play good, then you really aren’t going to be respected very well. If you hit a 5-iron … and you can put it to a back right pin and fade it in there, they’re going to respect you. And if you can’t, then you’ll probably get some blow back.
”So I understand that,” he said. ”That’s why you’ve got to go out there and play well.”
Romo has tried to qualify for the U.S. Open three times, most recently failing to advance from the first stage a year ago. He reached the final stage in 2010 and was tied for 10th after the first 18 holes. But he started the next round with a quadruple bogey and was 7 over when play was stopped for the second time because of weather. The Cowboys had an organized team activity the next day and he had to withdraw.
Romo has a plus-3 handicap index out of Dallas National Golf Club and occasionally plays with Jordan Spieth. Romo says those rounds take the longest because he’s asking Spieth for advice on his game.
He also began seeing Spieth’s chiropractor, Troy Van Biezen, to help recover from back surgeries that forced him out of football. Romo is playing this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with Will Zalatoris. Romo will play from the forward tees as an amateur.
”His short game is fantastic Cheap P.J. Hall Jersey ,” Spieth said. ”He’s walking in putts from 15 feet at home. … His muscle memory, his hand-eye coordination is really special. So I have no doubt he’ll shoot under par every round out here from where they’re playing from. And he’s really excited for the challenge and he wants to beat the pros that are in his group. That’s kind of his goal. I mean, he thinks he can win this golf tournament if he played it with us.”
Romo said if he played well, he would be open to more sponsor exemptions.
”If you don’t play well … it’s like a free agent in football,” he said. ”You get one shot. Hopefully, you do well.”
— Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams wasn’t himself as a rookie.
Back and knee injuries limited him to 11 receptions in 10 games last season, and a hamstring injury during OTAs this year had Williams wondering when his body would allow him to show why the Chargers selected him No. 7 overall in the 2017 draft.
Finally healthy, Williams has performed in training camp like the dominant receiver he was at Clemson.
“Not being able to do the things I’m used to doing, that was the main thing. Not being able to move how I want to move. Now I’m able to come out here and, you know, play how Mike Williams plays Cheap Jessie Bates III Jersey , so I’m feeling comfortable right now,” Williams said.
Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt had no doubts about Williams’ ability to contribute at a high level after making 98 receptions for 1,361 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Tigers’ 2016 national championship team. It was just a matter of staying on the field.
Whisenhunt pointed to the improvement Williams showed during the regular season, when he had seven catches for 62 yards in the two games against Jacksonville and Buffalo prior to sustaining the knee injury against Dallas on Thanksgiving Day.
“I think the thing with Mike that’s pretty consistent is when he gets an amount of time where he’s in a routine, he starts to get better,” Whisenhunt said.
A consistent schedule was lacking for Williams in 2017. He sustained a herniated disc in his lower back on the first day of rookie minicamp in May, an injury that kept him out of training camp last year. The progress Williams made this offseason was interrupted by a minor hamstring strain, but he recovered in time to run and lift weights every day and do yoga at least twice a week going into his first training camp.
The difference in Williams’ health has been evident. Always known as a receiver that uses his size effectively, he has been making contested catches consistently against the Chargers’ strong crop of defensive backs.
“He goes up and attacks the ball,” safety Jahleel Addae said. “That’s the biggest thing you see with him is he can use his body to shield off defenders. He can go up and grab it, and that’s something we need Jessie Bates III Bengals Jersey , for sure.”
At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Williams’ physical traits could be especially valuable with tight end Hunter Henry out for the season because of a torn ACL. All but one of Henry’s 12 career touchdowns receptions have been in the red zone, with eight coming inside the 10-yard line. Getting Williams matched up on jump balls at the goal line could offset those losses.
But Whisenhunt wants Williams to be more than a red-zone specialist. Whisenhunt and wide receivers coach Phil McGeoghan have been training Williams to line up all over the field, using Keenan Allen as the model for versatility.
“He set the standard of being able to line up in different spots and be successful, and that’s what we’re trying to do a little bit with Mike to create those matchups where we can use his size and hopefully those things can work out,” Whisenhunt said.
Route running is one area where Williams is already emulating Allen, citing him as an influence for his development there.
“He sets defenders up so good, it’s just good for me to come out here and learn from someone like him,” Williams said. “I take a lot from his game.”
All aspects of Williams’ improvement were evident when the Chargers scrimmaged Saturday as he made two touchdown receptions.
“The confidence comes with making plays,” Williams said.
NOTES: Defensive end Joey Bosa left practice early Tuesday because of a left foot injury.
.
As a player Joe Thomas Jersey , not a broadcaster.
Romo, now the lead NFL analyst for CBS Sports, has received a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Puntacana Resort & Club Championship on March 22-25. The first-year event is held opposite the Dell Technologies Match Play, a World Golf Championships event that attracts the top 64 in the world.
”You never know how good you are until you go play and perform,” Romo said Wednesday. ”Obviously, the odds going against these guys are not great. I think we all know that. But I think that’s what makes it really fun and enjoyable. I also think that the challenge that’s presented is what a competitor really wants.”
He joins a short list of athletes who have tried to compete against those who play for a living.
Mark Rypien, the former Washington Redskins quarterback, played the Kemper Open in 1992. He shot rounds of 80-91 and missed the cut by 27 shots.
Ken Harrelson, an All-Star outfielder for the Boston Red Sox in 1968, qualified for the 1972 British Open at Muirfield and missed the cut by one shot. John Brodie qualified for the U.S. Open while playing for the San Francisco 49ers and later won on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.
Most recently, Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry played a Web.com Tour event outside San Francisco. He shot 74-74 and missed the cut by 11 shots.
Tournaments are allotted unrestricted exemptions – Michelle Wie received them when she was a teenager – and there invariably are complaints from other players who might feel as though he is taking a spot from someone who has a better chance.
”I know a lot of these guys Calvin Ridley Youth Jersey , so I’ll just tell them, `Get out there. Let’s play a couple rounds and see what happens.’ I’ll joke with them a little bit,” Romo said. ”But I think if you play good, they will respect you. If you don’t play good, then you really aren’t going to be respected very well. If you hit a 5-iron … and you can put it to a back right pin and fade it in there, they’re going to respect you. And if you can’t, then you’ll probably get some blow back.
”So I understand that,” he said. ”That’s why you’ve got to go out there and play well.”
Romo has tried to qualify for the U.S. Open three times, most recently failing to advance from the first stage a year ago. He reached the final stage in 2010 and was tied for 10th after the first 18 holes. But he started the next round with a quadruple bogey and was 7 over when play was stopped for the second time because of weather. The Cowboys had an organized team activity the next day and he had to withdraw.
Romo has a plus-3 handicap index out of Dallas National Golf Club and occasionally plays with Jordan Spieth. Romo says those rounds take the longest because he’s asking Spieth for advice on his game.
He also began seeing Spieth’s chiropractor, Troy Van Biezen, to help recover from back surgeries that forced him out of football. Romo is playing this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with Will Zalatoris. Romo will play from the forward tees as an amateur.
”His short game is fantastic Cheap P.J. Hall Jersey ,” Spieth said. ”He’s walking in putts from 15 feet at home. … His muscle memory, his hand-eye coordination is really special. So I have no doubt he’ll shoot under par every round out here from where they’re playing from. And he’s really excited for the challenge and he wants to beat the pros that are in his group. That’s kind of his goal. I mean, he thinks he can win this golf tournament if he played it with us.”
Romo said if he played well, he would be open to more sponsor exemptions.
”If you don’t play well … it’s like a free agent in football,” he said. ”You get one shot. Hopefully, you do well.”
— Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams wasn’t himself as a rookie.
Back and knee injuries limited him to 11 receptions in 10 games last season, and a hamstring injury during OTAs this year had Williams wondering when his body would allow him to show why the Chargers selected him No. 7 overall in the 2017 draft.
Finally healthy, Williams has performed in training camp like the dominant receiver he was at Clemson.
“Not being able to do the things I’m used to doing, that was the main thing. Not being able to move how I want to move. Now I’m able to come out here and, you know, play how Mike Williams plays Cheap Jessie Bates III Jersey , so I’m feeling comfortable right now,” Williams said.
Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt had no doubts about Williams’ ability to contribute at a high level after making 98 receptions for 1,361 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Tigers’ 2016 national championship team. It was just a matter of staying on the field.
Whisenhunt pointed to the improvement Williams showed during the regular season, when he had seven catches for 62 yards in the two games against Jacksonville and Buffalo prior to sustaining the knee injury against Dallas on Thanksgiving Day.
“I think the thing with Mike that’s pretty consistent is when he gets an amount of time where he’s in a routine, he starts to get better,” Whisenhunt said.
A consistent schedule was lacking for Williams in 2017. He sustained a herniated disc in his lower back on the first day of rookie minicamp in May, an injury that kept him out of training camp last year. The progress Williams made this offseason was interrupted by a minor hamstring strain, but he recovered in time to run and lift weights every day and do yoga at least twice a week going into his first training camp.
The difference in Williams’ health has been evident. Always known as a receiver that uses his size effectively, he has been making contested catches consistently against the Chargers’ strong crop of defensive backs.
“He goes up and attacks the ball,” safety Jahleel Addae said. “That’s the biggest thing you see with him is he can use his body to shield off defenders. He can go up and grab it, and that’s something we need Jessie Bates III Bengals Jersey , for sure.”
At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Williams’ physical traits could be especially valuable with tight end Hunter Henry out for the season because of a torn ACL. All but one of Henry’s 12 career touchdowns receptions have been in the red zone, with eight coming inside the 10-yard line. Getting Williams matched up on jump balls at the goal line could offset those losses.
But Whisenhunt wants Williams to be more than a red-zone specialist. Whisenhunt and wide receivers coach Phil McGeoghan have been training Williams to line up all over the field, using Keenan Allen as the model for versatility.
“He set the standard of being able to line up in different spots and be successful, and that’s what we’re trying to do a little bit with Mike to create those matchups where we can use his size and hopefully those things can work out,” Whisenhunt said.
Route running is one area where Williams is already emulating Allen, citing him as an influence for his development there.
“He sets defenders up so good, it’s just good for me to come out here and learn from someone like him,” Williams said. “I take a lot from his game.”
All aspects of Williams’ improvement were evident when the Chargers scrimmaged Saturday as he made two touchdown receptions.
“The confidence comes with making plays,” Williams said.
NOTES: Defensive end Joey Bosa left practice early Tuesday because of a left foot injury.
.
