As we're walking with Romo, he's chatting with us pretty much every hole. You can tell he's down, but never losing confidence. He keeps talking about making his move and it better happen soon.
Finally, it does. On holes 14 and 15, Romo gets back-to-back birdies. On the 15th hole, he sank about a 15-foot putt and let out a roaring "Bamm!!" that probably woke up any napping residents in the local area.
Romo was pumped. It was like throwing a few picks and finally hitting T.O. on a long bomb for a touchdown.
He was ready to make his move. Romo walked to the 16th tee box at even par for the round. Three holes to play and Romo told us he needed to make two more birdies and a par.
However, his momentum didn't last too long. On the 16th hole, Romo's tee shot went way left and under a tree, about 150 yards from the hole on this Par 5. Ok, so the safe thing to do was probably lay up somewhere to the right and get back in the middle of the fairway, where he could probably get to the green, two-putt and still make par.
But not the gunslinger. Not the guy everyone compares to Brett Favre. Not Tin Cup Romo.
He goes for the green and hacks the ball back into the trees. Then he ends up in the trap, another bad shot follows. And before you know it, Romo gets a bogey and it's looking pretty bleak.
Oh well, so much for that, right?
Romo has that quirky smile on his face as he walks towards us on his way to No. 17, a Par 3. He gets right towards us, stops and with all the confidence in the world he says:
"Anyone ever seen a hole-in-one?"
We all laughed, thinking, "Man, this guy is great." But he was serious. He was like "Yeah, really. I'm going for the hole."
Who says that? Who says they're going for a hole-in-one, unless you're talking about hitting it into the clown's mouth or under the windmill in putt-putt. But he honestly thought, I've got to hit this hole-in-one, so I can move on and advance, and atone for my previous mistakes today.
Of course, Romo didn't get his hole-in-one. He did par the final two holes and finished with a one-over 72. Actually, a score of 69 wouldn't have even qualified.
Still, the mentality is the same.
This guy never stopped believing he was going to get the job done. Maybe that's why he jams to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" any chance he can get.
And yes, that attitude can get you into trouble. On the golf course, when you think you can make every shot just because you've done it once or twice before.
On the football field, too. Sure, Romo has fired passes into triple coverage and somehow Jason Witten comes down with the ball for a first down.
Personally, I have no problems with Romo's play so far this season, or in the past two seasons. I've said this so many times now that it seems like a broken record, but I just think if you ask this guy to pull back the reigns and play more conservative, he could do that.
He could throw fewer interceptions, especially in the red zone. Hope you've got Nick Folk on your fantasy team. Because fewer picks means he's taking fewer chances. And that usually results in fewer touchdowns.
Remember, the same confidence that allows Romo to throw touchdowns passes, is the same stuff that gets him into trouble.
That's why it's almost laughable to me when I hear people ask if Romo has lost his confidence.
I'm sure he will work on a few things here and there about his game and try to cut down on the picks. But it's doubtful that he will do anything to lose his aggressiveness.
Whether he's aiming for a receiver in tight coverage, or the flag some 200 yards out with the ball buried in the rough, Romo will continue to go for it. That's really all he knows.
