Jordan Spieth in, Tony Romo out this weekend at Trinity Forest
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Jordan Spieth's interview after Round 2 of AT&T Byron Nelson
DALLAS – Trinity Forest members Jordan Spieth and Tony Romo – two of the biggest sports names in Dallas -- are seeking progress in their golf games. After two rounds of the AT&T Byron Nelson, each walked away feeling positive steps were made.
Only one, however, advanced to the weekend.
Spieth, the 11-time PGA TOUR winner, followed his opening 68 with a 4-under 67, leaving him at 7 under through 36 holes. The good news is that just a handful of players are higher up on the leaderboard. The bad news is that leader Sung Kang is 11 strokes ahead of him.
“Very pleased,” Spieth said after his round. “I felt like I improved on yesterday, which was already a solid day. .. In a position to fire away a little bit on the weekend.”
Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback-turned-NFL-analyst, followed his opening 76 with 3-over 74. That left him at 8 over and near the bottom of the leaderboard but given that he’s the only amateur in the field and currently known for his predictions more than his pars, it was a good step. Of his four nines, he played two of them in even par, including his opening nine (he started on the 10th hole) Friday.
Asked what his takeaway was in his third start at a PGA TOUR event (and his first in Dallas), Romo – who played on a sponsor exemption this week -- replied: “Really just the ability to continue to improve. I think more than anything, I got a sense to be able to hit a lot of high quality shots under what is a pressure situation for me.
“That's encouraging and shows that the work you're doing holds up when it counts and from there, you just got to find the little things that allow you to keep things going and not derail the round … technique-wise, we're coming on.”
Spieth’s first two rounds are his most consistent start since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, when he opened with 66-68. But on the weekend at Pebble Beach Golf Links, he faded away, shooting 74-75.
That’s been a common occurrence this season for Spieth. He ranks T-38th on TOUR in first-round scoring average and third in second-round average. But in third-round average, he ranks T-202nd, and his final-round scoring average ranks 207th.
Staying in contention and carrying over his good play into the weekend will be a good sign for Spieth, who has yet to produce a top-20 finish in his first 12 starts this season.
“The idea is to try to get better each day,” Spieth said. “Sometimes the score reflects that, sometimes it doesn't. This year, even if I've had a poor weekend, I felt like I found something to make me better long-term. … Oftentimes it's looked at as negative or down, but I don't see it that way.
“I know what I'm supposed to be doing, I know what I'm supposed to be working on and I know over the course of a long career, that whether it's short-term results or not, it doesn't matter. It will bring better long-term results.”
One thing Spieth definitely would like to avoid is a double bogey. He’s had one in each of his first two rounds, which has eaten away at the 14 birdies he’s made thus far. “I'd like to play a bogey-free round here or there and really get something going,” he said. “Clearly everybody would like that.”
As for Romo, well, he will continue to work on his game, try to qualify for the U.S. Open and put himself in competitive situations that test his consistency. He was pleased with the way he struck the ball at times the first two days.
“This game is small when it comes to your ability to improve from even one day to the next or one week or one month,” Romo said. “You can really make a ton of improvement with the right technique or practice.”
He did get some golf tips from Nick Faldo, who – like Romo – works at CBS.
“I think he knows a little bit about the golf swing,” Romo said. “I think we may listen to him a little bit. He's got some good bits.”