SOUTH LAKE TAHOE -- Tony Romo is right back where he left off.
At the top of the leaderboard.
Romo, the defending champion, picked up 26 points to claim the lead after the first round of the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament on Friday at Edgewood Tahoe.
Patrick Peterson is second with 24 points, followed by Derek Low with 23 points, John Smoltz (22) and a handful of players are close behind. Two-time winner Jack Wagner has 21).
Romo said he had a slow start Friday, he had 2 points through five holes, then started being a bit more aggressive with his putts. He played in the same group with Steph Curry and Justin Timberlake.
"It was really entertaining, honestly. It was fun, because Steph and JT are great guys. And then they're also good golfers. So it makes it kind of just a unique experience, but the fans were so -- they're just happy and rooting you on that it made it really fun," Romo said. "Whenever you made a putt or hit a good shot, you felt the energy of the crowd. And just kind of gets you -- you just keep plugging away, keep going, and you hear some big roars at different times, make it really exciting."
Romo said his experience playing quarterback in the NFL is not a help nor hindrance on the golf course.
"You're focused on what you're trying to do. That stuff, to me, it doesn't really matter, I guess you could say. It's fun when people are excited and they're rooting for you. That makes you just feel good that people want to root for you," Romo said.
He loves the atmosphere, but said the crowd noise and music become part of the background when he is getting ready to hit a shot.
"When I step over a shot, like when I pull that club, the other stuff is going on, but that's not even a part of your psyche. It's literally just white noise," Romo said.
Lowe finished tied for second two years ago when Mark Mulder won. The two were in the same group Friday, along with Trevor Hoffman. Their round took a little longer than 5 hours to complete.
Lowe said his putting was sharp Friday, which led to his good round.
"You want to compete and the first round is the place to get you in contention," Lowe said.
He has played at Edgewood eight times and said having that experience helps with nerves.
Lowe pitched in the World Series once with the Boston Red Sox, in 2004, and said that does not compare to playing golf in front of the crowds at Tahoe.
"Totally different nerves," Lowe said. "I think every athlete up here will sit up here, tell you the same thing, you put somebody in the arena at the highest level, yes, there's going to be nerves, but nothing like this. You go out there and compete and see what happens.
"My first couple of years it would take me until day two before your hands weren't shaking. It's just knowing the golf course, being comfortable playing in front of people and so you just kind of learn throughout the years."
He said one key this week has been drinking a lot of water and getting plenty of sleep.
"You can come out here, bring your family, party for six days and have a great time; or you can come out here and say I'm going to try to do the best I can," Lowe said. "So that's kind of where I've been. I've been on both sides. And I don't regret coming out here saying you have maybe a little too much fun but you're in Tahoe; don't know if you're ever going to come back. So you try to enjoy it. So this year's the water and the sleep mode."
HOME RUN FRENZY: Major League Baseball is on pace to set the home run record. Lowe, who retired in 2013, said he is glad to not be pitching anymore and that he has heard the talk of the ball being juiced
"Or just balls going a lot farther from maybe not the biggest guys," Lowe said. "There's something going on, unless we're in the greatest home run era we've ever seen. You can pick one or the other. But they're getting ready to shatter the all-time. But it's good for the game. Home runs and strikeouts that's the name of this game, this era."
Jack Wagner is the only non-athlete to have won at Edgewood, taking the title in 2006 and '11 and the actor is back in contention with 21 points.
He said a new workout, along with intermittent fasting and breathing control, has him in the best shape of his life. Wagner turns 60 in a few months.
"I'm pretty grateful for the fact that I'm still doing music and I'm on a TV series and I'm playing golf on television. I've kind of done this for 35 years. So I'm just -- every day, not to sound corny, but I am on The Hallmark Channel -- so I'm going to come with a quality of love and kindness. It's inbred in the actors on this network," he said, smiling.
Wagner and Jim McMahon have played in all 30 celebrity golf tournaments at Edgewood Tahoe.
BARKLEY HAS BEST ROUND: Charles Barkley is usually near the bottom of the standings at the ACC, but he shot his best round in 15 years on Friday at Edgewood, a 94, and finished with minus-12 points in the Modified Stableford scoring system.
He is 76th in the 90-player field.
Steph Curry made an eagle on No. 18, for six points, and has 15 after the first round. Justin Timberlake has 11 points. His father, Dell Curry, has 20 points.
Romo joked about Barkley's round.
"Did he hit somebody and they threw it in? That's awesome," Romo said, smiling. "He said he was hitting it better. Hadn't been hitting it good off the tee, but he said everything else was going good."
John Smoltz had his best first round with 22 points. He also joked about Barkley.
"That has me proud. Tears are coming down my eyes because Charles is the ultimate perseverer," Smoltz said.
Leaderboard and Saturday's tee times
TV ANNOUNCERS WEIGH IN: Notah Begay and Peter Jacobsen are handling TV announcing duties for NBC Sports this week at Edgewood Tahoe.
They said the key will be taking the high altitude into account and not always pulling out the driver. He said some of the golfers carry four wedges
"You have to know when to pull the driver out and when to lay up to a good number. And guys that contend here, Mark Mulder, who has won here multiple times, got really good at that. Not only did he improve his wedge play as he developed into a high-level amateur, but he also knew when and where to try and be aggressive on this golf course," Begay said.
Begay said the American Century Championship is like a major for celebrities, the only one they have. Golfers on the PGA Tour have the chance to compete in four majors.
"You see players that elevate their level of performance from what they normally play back home at their clubs, and you see players that you think should contend on a regular basis, they struggle with the conditions. They struggle with the pressure," Begay said. "It's a big-time pressured event for these guys and it's fun to go out there and watch them navigate, just like a professional golfer would, the different tactical decisions they have to make and try and really navigate the golf course in a strategic fashion to get as many points as possible, when and where to take risks. And this golf course gives you a lot of chance to make some big moves on the field, but you also see some guys stumble."
Jacobsen said scoring points in the modified Stableford is the key and sometimes points come by laying up to the green.
Jacobsen raved about defending champion Tony Romo's golf coach, Chris O'Connell, from Dallas. He said Romo continually works on and improves his golf game.
"Last year I remember Tony talking about the changes he made. Every day I was on the range with Tony watching him and he was so excited about what he was doing with his golf swing, and he was hitting the perfect shots. Most notably his wedges," Jacobsen said. "He was really dialed in with his wedges. So it was no surprise that he won the tournament, because he was so amped up and ready to go. And you could really see it, the way that he competed, as Notah said, he elevated his game. Obviously he's quite a competitor.
FOUR DROP OUT: Arizona State football coach Herm Edwards withdrew from the ACC tournament before starting play on Friday, as did Ohio State coach Urban Meyer former NFL running back Terrel Davis, and former NFL defensive back Rodney Harrison. No reason was given.
SPRAYING CHAMPAGNE FOR CHARITY: Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen won the Korbel Celebrity Spray-Off competition on Thursday with a distance of 83 feet, a record for the event.
There were 38 players attempting the spray-off. Comedian Rob Riggle was second with a distance of 74 feet, followed by former All-Pro quarterback Trent Dilfer with a 70-foot cork.
Allen will donate the $5,000 prize to the charity of his choice.
Jim Krajewski covers high school and youth sports for the Reno Gazette Journal. Follow him on Twitter @RGJPreps. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.
https://www.rgj.com/story/sports/2019/07/12/acc-celebrity-golf-romo-jumps-lead-peterson-lowe-stay-close/1715773001/
2019-07-13 00:18:00Z
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