Tag: ClubCorp Classic

Tony Romo on the rocks: Former Dallas Cowboys QB fumbles away celebrity division title in playoff

The ClubCorp Classic celebrity division came down to NFL analyst Tony Romo and tennis pro Mardy Fish.

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had a spotty playoff record behind center – 2-4 lifetime – and it didn’t get any better Sunday on the golf course.

Playing in the celebrity division of the ClubCorp Classic, a PGA Tour Champions event in Irving, Texas, Romo, 42, held the lead until he hit into the water at the par-5 18th hole at Las Colinas Country Club and made bogey, while former tennis pro Mardy Fish responded with a clutch birdie. That forced a tie with 106 points in the Stableford scoring system.

Fish won the playoff when Romo, the lead analyst on the NFL for CBS Sports these days, again rinsed his second shot into the penalty area and Fish converted a short birdie putt.

“It’s nice to catch Tony this time,” said the 40-year-old Fish, who is the U.S. Davis Cup Captain and has been battling regularly with Romo on the celebrity golf circuit. “He’s a great player. He had plenty of support here. We’ve got a nice rivalry building.”

It came down to 18, where Fish avoided the penalty area and Romo did not.

“Get it over the water was the thought initially and then we’ll figure it out from there,” Fish said. “Obviously feels great to win and get to beat him, especially here. I’m sure he’s played the course a few more times than I have, but conditions were tough out here.”

Romo held the lead after the first and second rounds, but shot the equivalent of 73 on Sunday, good for 34 points to Fish’s 70 that generated 37 points.

“I played well, did a lot of good things, but that 18th hole is what cost me,” Romo said. “The wind is swirling; I hit pretty good shots. Going over par on that hole after being in good position is just not going to get it done.”

LPGA Hall of Fame member Annika Sorenstam finished third with 100 points.

The modified Stableford scoring format awards 10 points for an albatross, 5 for a hole-in-one and eagle, 3 for birdie, 2 for par, 1 for bogey and 0 for double bogey.

Fish won the $100,000 first-place prize from the Celebrity Division purse of $500,000.

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Former Dallas Cowboys great Emmitt Smith’s first golf clubs were blades — and they shouldn’t have been

Smith is participating this week in the ClubCorp Classic at Las Colinas Country Club.

Emmitt Smith has few regrets. It’s easy to see why when you look at his resume — three Super Bowl rings, eight Pro Bowl appearances, and a Pro Football Hall of Fame induction are just a few of the highlights on what seems like an endless list of accomplishments.

But the former Dallas Cowboys great does have one thing he’d do over again — pick up the game of golf at an earlier age. Smith is participating this week in the ClubCorp Classic at Las Colinas Country Club, just a few miles from the former Texas Stadium site where he became a legend.

Smith grew up in Pensacola and played football at Escambia High School, where he helped lead his team to two state football championships, rushing for 106 touchdowns and 8,804 yards in the process — the latter a mark that was second all-time when he graduated. He was named USA Today’s national high school football player of the year for 1986.

But while a few others emerged from the Florida panhandle to become PGA Tour stars — Bubba Watson, Boo Weekley and Heath Slocum come to mind — Smith said he simply wasn’t introduced to the game.

“Shoot, I wish I could have took up golf when I was a kid,” Smith said on Friday. “But my folks couldn’t afford no golf balls and no golf clubs, let alone green fees and all that kind of stuff. I mean, I don’t even recall that there was even a golf club back in my hometown that I can think of. I only recall junior golf. It was all about football and baseball back in my hometown, that’s what we all did.”

Smith, who is scheduled to go off at 12:50 p.m. today with Brian Urlacher, Gene Sauers and Billy Andrade, said he finally got acquainted with golf while closing out a stellar collegiate career.

“It was spring ’90, my last year at Florida before I got drafted. I went out and played a round of golf with my teammates … in Gainesville,” he said. “Went out to West End, I’ll never forget it. Out there hitting golf balls and drinking beer and having a good time.”

After he got involved with the game, Smith instantly saw the reason others pursued it, and he became a regular with his new teammates after being selected by the Cowboys with the 17th pick in the 1990 NFL draft.

“I got drafted by the Cowboys, come out here that summer, everybody working out and flying to the golf course up at River Chase,” he said. “We used to play at River Chase all the time. So I just rented clubs and rented clubs and rented clubs, and then that offseason I bought my first set of golf clubs. Bought me a set of Hogan Edges all because they were pretty and they looked good in the bag and I said I’m going to get ’em. Didn’t know what kind of clubs I bought. I bought blades. They were blades.”

Smith admitted he had no business playing those Edges.

“I wasn’t that good. I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. So I bought these real expensive golf clubs,” he said. “I don’t know where the hell they are today, but I bought them.”

And as for this week, what does the new tournament provide in terms of an experience for a guy who was once comfortable with the highest sports stage?

“You get the chance to get outdoors. I mean, think about it, we’ve been indoors for a long time dealing with the pandemic and all those kind of things,” he said. “Now we have an opportunity to get outside and enjoy playing a round of golf in a competitive environment.

“It’s a wonderful thing to see, see the format, hitting the golf ball and having a good time. For me, it’s enjoyable.”

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