Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo failed to qualify for the U.S. Open, but he still got to play the course Friday afternoon. Romo joined an eclectic foursome that included singer Justin Timberlake, NBC "Today" host Matt Lauer and contest winner John Atkinson in playing the South Course at Torrey Pines, the site of this week's Open.
Parts of Friday's celebrity round will be aired next weekend. The event was inspired by Tiger Woods' statement during last year's Open at Oakmont that 10-handicappers wouldn't be able to break 100. Romo, a 2-handicapper (during the season), posted a 13-over-par 84 Friday. And since I had a pretty good view of his 75 at Pebble Beach a few years ago, I'm thinking he wasn't pleased with that score.
Timberlake, sporting a black fedora that had Sam Snead spinning in his grave, shot a 98. He supposedly plays to a 6-handicap, so his 27-over performance tells you how tough Torrey Pines is playing. Timberlake was able to "scoreboard" Romo on US Weekly covers.
Lauer (6.2) and Atkinson (8.1) shot 100 and 114. Atkinson won a contest that included 56,000 entries. A year ago, he was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, but his celebrity caddie, famed sports psychologist Bob Rotella, came away impressed with Atkinson's perseverence.
"For a guy who's played one member-guest [tournament] in his life, it was pretty impressive," said Rotella. "I think he felt very good about it."
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