Pat Wheeler

GLADEWATER — Never underestimate the importance of being quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.

That was never more apparent recently when I attended what was a great day for The Tempest Golf Club and a great day for Dallas Cowboys fans.

The event was a 36-hole qualifier for the 121st U.S. Amateur. The Tempest was chosen to host the competition by the United States Golf Association when a site was needed due to a cancellation by the Oklahoma Golf Association. Then the day was enhanced when former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo entered the field of 84 golfers seeking two spots in the upcoming U.S. Am.

Only 300 golfers will qualify out of some 7,800 entrants nationwide for the oldest championship in America to be played at Oakmont Country Club just outside Pittsburgh in August.

The Tempest, in just its third year, is now ranked in the top 50 best courses in Texas by the Dallas Morning News. Designed by Jeff Brauer of Arlington, the course continues to improve and was elevated to a new status by hosting the USGA event. The Tempest continues to live up to its slogan, “East Texas golf as it was meant to be.”

Owner Joe Bruno of New Orleans was on hand for the U.S. Amateur qualifier and pleased with the favorable comments of the players, especially Romo. Just before starting his second round on Wednesday, Romo told Bruno that he loved the course and its beauty.

The Tempest is challenging to walk for 18 holes, not to mention the 36 holes required to qualify for the US Amateur. The Wednesday competition was a test of skill and grit but the perks that go with winning the U.S. Amateur (or being the runner-up) include an invitation to The Masters.

Romo was one of 84 amateurs attempting to qualify for just two available spots. Romo didn’t qualify but that did nothing to dampen the spirits of some 50 to 75 people who showed up to follow him up and down the hills of the Tempest in a searing summer heat.

I marvelled at the size of Romo’s gallery as I watched him hit a sweet short iron shot on the downhill par-3 fourth hole.

How can a quarterback who has been retired for almost five years now command such a following?

I remembered my encounter with Romo two years ago when he played in the Texas State Open at The Cascades in Tyler and the galleries were sizable. He spoke at a dinner the night before the tournament started and as a member of the media, I was given the opportunity to ask one question.

It was shameless showboating but I had only one short moment to shine. So I began with an extended preface, much to Romo’s amusement as indicated by his hearty laughter before answering.

“Eddie Lebaron, Don Mereditih, Craig Morton, Roger Staubach, Danny White, Troy Aikman. What’s it like to be the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys?”

After his laugh, Romo revealed why he is so loved by Cowboys fans. He was thoughtful, nice and genuine.

“Well, it’s a process because at first you are trying to make the team and then you are trying to become the starter and then you are trying to play well,” Romo said that evening. “And then at some point, you realize that people love you or hate you depending on how you do. You realize that people are happy or sad because of how the Cowboys do. But you have to just concentrate on doing the best you can.”

As I strolled along at the Tempest and watched one fan carry a cardboard with Romo’s jersey on it for all 18 holes, I continued to think about the meaning of such adoration.

Jonathan Hernandez, a 9-year Navy veteran, and his son Jonah drove to the Tempest from Irving but did not go home disappointed. Romo signed the jersey and spent time thanking them for their dedication and support.

Romo’s interaction with Hernandez and his son and the others who followed him revealed the essence of his popularity. He gives back.

Though he never won a championship, Romo played 14 seasons in Dallas and had some gaudy passing statistics. He didn’t win the Super Bowl rings like Staubach and Aikman, but he was good. Yet, it is his success after football that reminds me of Meredith, Dandy Don, a Cowboys legend who died in 2011.

I am showing my age by having attended Cowboys games at three different locations — the Cotton Bowl, Texas Stadium and AT&T Stadium better known as Jerry World.

It was Meredith who heaved bombs to Bullet Bob Hayes in a 1966 game I watched at the Cotton Bowl. My friend Steve Graham and his father Hunt took me and my brother Tim for the opening game against the New York Giants and Hayes caught one ball at midfield and stayed a yard ahead of the great Spider Lockhart in a footrace to the goal line.

Later I saw Staubach work his magic with Drew Pearson and Tony Dorsett and company at Texas Stadium.

The commonality of Meredith and Romo is their appeal after retirement. Meredith became part of the advent of Monday Night Football on television circa 1970 along with Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell. In many ways he was more popular as an announcer than a player with his trademark rendition of Willie Nelson’s “Turn out the lights, the party’s over,” once the game was in hand for one team.

Like Meredith, Romo is now a popular color announcer of NFL games on television. Teaming up with Jim Nantz on CBS, Romo doesn’t sing too much but his insight into the game plays to the tune of about $17 million per year.

Of the 84 golfers going for only two spots in the heat at the Tempest, it is no surprise that 25 withdrew before completing the two rounds. One of those was Romo who shot a 76 in a morning round that took more than five hours to play. With only a 30-minute rest before starting his second round, Romo quit on his seventh hole in the afternoon when his surgically repaired back tightened up.

Not to worry, Romo will rest and heal before teeing it up again July 6 at a celebrity tournament in Lake Tahoe and then is scheduled to play at the state open at The Cascades in late July.

Cowboys fans are sure to be present at Lake Tahoe and especially The Cascades. We love our quarterbacks.