Tony Romo Disqualified From Korn Ferry Tour Pre-Qualifier

Tony Romo was disqualified from the third and final round of a Korn Ferry Tour pre-qualifier on Oct. 2, the same day CBS Sports announced it was parting ways with him as its lead NFL analyst. The DQ stemmed from a scorecard dispute over two holes late in his round at the Club at Forest Ridge in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

What happened in Romo's third round?

Romo, 46, shot 76 and 75 in the first two rounds of the 54-hole pre-qualifier, leaving him 13 strokes off the 36-hole lead but within range of the top 37 and ties who would advance toward Korn Ferry Tour Q-School. He played the third round with college amateur Ethan Smith and Louisiana pro Brandon Rice, who kept Romo's scorecard as his marker. The group was put on the clock for slow play, and Romo shot 37 on each nine for a round he signed as a 74.

Why was Romo disqualified?

Rob Keller, a 12-year PGA Tour rules official who oversaw the event for the South Central PGA section, said a walking official tracking the group's pace recorded three-putt bogeys for Romo on holes 16 and 17 — 5s on both. Romo's signed card read 4s on each. Under the Rules of Golf, signing for a lower score than actually played results in disqualification unless corrected within 15 minutes of leaving the scoring area.

Signing for a lower score than you shot is disqualification under golf's rules, no matter how the error happened.

Keller interviewed Smith and Rice by phone, and at least one of them confirmed Romo had made 5s on both holes. Keller said the scoring process was rushed and that Romo signed Rice's card without checking it carefully, in part because he was frustrated with how the round had gone. Keller said Romo took responsibility for the error once contacted. "The procedure I like is, we want eyes on the scorecards," Keller said.

What does this mean for Romo's golf ambitions?

Keller noted Romo was not going to advance regardless of the scoring dispute; even his signed 74 would have left him three shots short. The pre-qualifier was one of several Romo has entered over the years in pursuit of playing privileges below the Korn Ferry Tour. He previously played a PGA Tour event in the Dominican Republic in 2018 on a sponsor's exemption, as an amateur shooting rounds of 77 and 82 to miss the cut by 16 shots.

The DQ capped a turbulent stretch for Romo off the course as well. His exit from CBS ended a run that began after a 13-year playing career with the Dallas Cowboys and included a 10-year, $180 million contract extension signed in 2020; he was reportedly still owed $74 million when the network and Romo parted ways. Tiger Woods once said the only celebrity athlete he knew with more game than Romo was retired pitcher John Smoltz. There was no immediate response from Romo's agent to a request for comment sent by email and voicemail.