Roamin' Romo tees it up in the Lowcountry

When in Charleston, do as the Romos do.

Play golf. Eat well. Play some more golf.

I wonder how the other NFL playoff-caliber starting quarterbacks spent Thursday. Napping? Breaking down New York Giants tape? Shopping with supermodels?

Not Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys. America's Team leader was mixing it up with the likes of Dayton Rose of Midwest City, Okla., and Patrick Reed of Baton Rouge, La., as well as many of the best Lowcountry golfers in the first round of the Azalea Invitational at the venerable Country Club of Charleston.

Romo shot a very respectable 73 while wearing a Masters golf shirt and a 2007 Oakmont U.S. Open cap in pursuit of the $750 first prize and coveted trophy.

Tre Sheppard of Mount Pleasant, among the talented Azalea participants not swarmed by autograph seekers carrying footballs and replica helmets following his round, was asked what it was like having Romo in the field.

"Pretty cool," he said. "People have been asking me if I can get them tickets."

Sheppard smiled. This Azalea, even with Romo on hand, has the same admission price as previous tournaments. Free.

No J-Simp

The starter officially introduced "Tony Romo of Burlington, Wisconsin," at 8:40 a.m. and a dozen fans followed the undrafted Eastern Illinois alum down the first fairway.

His gallery generally ranged from six to 12 people but the crowd swelled to 40-plus around a challenging 18th green that is roughly the circumference of Fort Moultrie.

Some of the mostly male spectators were disappointed to learn Romo did not bring Jessica Simpson, the "Blonde Ambition" star essentially famous for being Jessica Simpson. No sign, either, of Terrell Owens, the Cowboys receiver who immediately after the Cowboys' recent playoff loss to the Giants tearfully defended "my quarterback."

But Romo did bring his father, Ramiro Romo, who enthusiastically served as caddy.

"It's great," Tony Romo said. "That was part of the reason we came out here, just to be able to spend more time together."

But if you thought this QB was just out for a touristy stroll or that he came to town simply to hum "Ain't No Woman Like The One I've Got" between stops at the 19th hole, well, think again.

Romo had his football game-face on.

Lowcountry lure

"Competition is competition," he said. "When you get out here, you want to perform and you want to do your best. The thing I noticed is, you can shoot certain scores all week that are real high numbers but when you get into tournament play, you do what you know.

That's all that I try to do when I'm playing a game: You go with what you know and you're realistic with yourself. I'm not going to try and hit a high, cut 3-iron over a tree just because you think, 'Hey, you're supposed to be able to do this.' I'll just do it with what I've got."

Better be careful, Tony.

This could become habit-forming.

Next thing you know, the lure of azaleas at the Azalea, shrimp and grits downtown and a salt marsh breeze on a sunny spring day is enough to make a man leave Jerry Jones, move to James Island and join Warren Peper, Gettys Glaze and others in pursuit of Charleston amateur golf supremacy.

Reach Gene Sapakoff at gsapakoff@postandcourier.com.