U.S. Open dream done; Romo still has Super Bowl on mind

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He wasn't good enough.

It was that simple. And that complex.

That Tony Romo was even teeing it up with 36 holes of hope standing between him and a tee time in next week's U.S. Open was pretty amazing.

That the man all those Metroplex folks seem to think should be living 24/7 at Valley Ranch until or unless he leads the Dallas Cowboys to another Super Bowl title was one day away from playing for a national title in another sport was stunning. That a part-time, single-digit amateur headed into the day with something seriously less than his A game and found a way to hang in there for 18 holes ... priceless.

"That's why you feel a sense of satisfaction in accomplishing something," Romo said. "I may not have accomplished my goal, but I did say, 'You know what? I can play at a decent level on a day that it's definitely a little bit of pressure involved in the golf game.' That was nice to see."

Romo didn't look for excuses. He was relaxed and smiling, but drained. He checked voicemails and grinned. He waited for his dad to grab a clean, dry Starter hat for him to wear before the cameras rolled. He didn't think twice about withdrawing after 21 holes to fly back to Dallas to get to his day job Tuesday morning.

Not that this was whim, mind you. It was, rather, one of those grand rides that so many others were taking Monday. Imagine putting your game out there and testing it against the pros. Daring to see how you stack up against the men who play this game for living -- on the PGA TOUR or a grassroots mini-tour.

As Romo talked, Casey Clendennon, who was leading at the time, and TOUR pros Steve Elkington, Bob Estes and Roland Thatcher were just down the hall waiting out the day's second interruption to the qualifier at The Woodlands. Amateur Julio Vegas was talking with a friend, hoping to find magic when play resumed. Again.

They had all faced the same thick, muggy, feel-like-you're-breathing-water day. Temperatures were hovering near 90 and the humidity index was right below 100. They were all battling something -- a balky putter, the heat, a mischievous swing.

Romo did more than hang in there. The superstar quarterback had started the day with the equivalent of a throwing a pick for touchdown. He tripled the fourth hole and fought his way back. He battled a nasty hook all day, but finished the first 18 holes at 1 under, four behind Clendennon. Then he went to the first tee again. Took a quadruple-bogey 8 at the first, then a bogey-5, then a triple-bogey 6. At four? He dunked his tee shot into the water.

And when the horn sounded for another delay? He was done. There was no way he could finish his round Monday and, well, he had a Cowboy OTA (Organized Team Activity) Tuesday morning in Dallas. He had to pull out of the qualifying for the HP Byron Nelson Classic last month because of another OTA.

You could say the OTA cost him last month, but not this time. There was no chance of grabbing one of the two spots when he was trailing by 12 shots with 12 to play.

Romo admitted to simply losing it when he went straight from the 18th green to the first tee to start round No. 2.

"It's a different deal,'' he said. "I don't know if I've ever played 36 holes, maybe in a golf cart, but it's been a long time. It's just mentally tough.

". . . .It's a long day. It's a marathon. As soon as I went left into that stuff (on No. 1), that was really where the day ended. It's funny how in golf, it's every single shot. It just taught me another lesson today. You never know which play is going to win you the game."

For Romo, the goal was to become just the fourth athlete from another professional sport to play in the U.S. Open. It became, as with so many others, a chance to dare himself to think of performing on the next stage. He did that with football when he was already a basketball star in high school. And look what happened.

His chance to take the USGA's 2010 examination at Pebble Beach ended Monday. He was hardly alone.

Tom Kite, who won the Open at wind-blown Pebble in 1992, came up a shot short at his qualifier and is on the outside looking in as an alternate. If he makes it, he would join '82 Open champ Tom Watson, who is in on a special exemption, as the only players to have played in all five Opens at Pebble.

Memorial winner Justin Rose and runner-up Rickie Fowler both ran out of steam at the Columbus qualifier and will watch the Open from home. Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin missed out by two shots. In The Woodlands qualifier, 20 other players WD-ed. Chad Campbell and amateur Jordan Spieth both missed out in Memphis.

But those lucky ones? Well, double-heart transplant Erik Compton overcame a week at the Memorial and a sleepless night to make the field. Jason Gore, who was married on Pebble's 18th green, is in as is Ty Tryon, the one-time can't miss kid who is now a 26-year-old husband and father.

Like Romo said, you never know.

He's taking away a lesson in mental discipline -- the kind he needed to run an offense, the kind golfers need every shot every day -- and in finding a way to compete even when nothing in your game feels great.

About daring to test yourself on another level in a game that's really your second love.

Someone asked how it felt not to accomplish that dream of playing in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

He looked up, shook his head and smiled.

"My dream is to play in the Super Bowl.''