Tony Romo's CBS broadcasting debut will be ... at a golf tournament

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

Tony Romo will be the biggest name in CBS’ football coverage this season, but he’ll start his broadcasting career far from a football stadium.

Romo’s broadcasting debut will be at an under-the-radar golf tournament. Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Romo’s first assignment for CBS will be at the Dean & Deluca Invitational this weekend. He’ll be at the broadcast booth on the 18th hole. CBS Sports producer Lance Barrow told attendees of the Ben Hogan award ceremony at the Colonial Country Club about Romo’s first assignment.

While it’s not football, Romo should be comfortable talking about golf. He’s a very good amateur golfer who recently tried to qualify for the U.S. Open. And it’s not too unusual for a football announcer to have some golf assignments; longtime CBS college football announcer Verne Lundquist is also a fixture at CBS’ Masters coverage, for example. Given Romo’s golf acumen, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he becomes a regular part of CBS’ golf coverage during the NFL offseason.

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It’s a good way for CBS to ease Romo in, so his first assignments aren’t doing color commentary on CBS’ biggest NFL games. Romo has never been a broadcaster before and it’s smart to get him reps in a low-pressure situation first. It might also give a small ratings bump for CBS on a golf tournament many sports fans probably haven’t heard of.

At this point, CBS seems excited about its latest acquisition.

“I think he is going to be great,” Barrow said, according to the Star-Telegram. “I think we have the next John Madden on your hands.”

This weekend, we’ll get at least a brief look at how Romo might do behind the microphone.

Tony Romo will make his broadcasting debut at a golf tournament this weekend. (AP)
Tony Romo will make his broadcasting debut at a golf tournament this weekend. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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