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AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP

July 17, 2011

Tony Romo

STATELINE, NEVADA

THE MODERATOR: Tony, thank you very much for coming out. Three-point loss to Jack. Tell us the last couple of holes where it didn't go your way; 16, 17, 18 probably.
TONY ROMO: Yeah. You know, I played pretty well today. I think had six birdies and no bogeys. And that's a good round of golf for me.
And I think you like to have one back. Obviously, I hit -- I misread the putt on 16. It was tough. And then 17, the ball just didn't come down on the break. And 18 I had to be aggressive and try to make a 3 there. With a hard right-to-left wind, it's kind of hit or miss.
You have to hole it into the wind and out there for a little bit. It started to drift late and hit the side and went in.
So it's the kind of shot you need to hit when you need to make eagle. And I knew at the time that was the only chance I had. So it's a tough break at the end.

Q. Your club at 18 for the approach?
TONY ROMO: I tried to hit a smooth 8-iron because I had to kind of hold it back into the wind. It was blowing hard right-to-left with the tree that overhangs on the right side of the green, it doesn't allow you to bring it in from the right. So you kind of have to hold the line.
And I hit a good shot, hit it solid, hit it on line, and then it just started to drift once it reached its apex. And it's too bad. I thought I put a good swing on it.

Q. While it's still fresh, give me your emotions. I know coming in second is not the best.
TONY ROMO: It's disappointing just from the aspect of wanting to win and compete out there. But, you know, Jack deserves all the credit here. I mean, he played a great round of golf.
And anytime you have -- I think he had a six-point lead on me starting the day. Maybe 10 on Chris. And he starts off with six birdies in the first 11 holes, you know, it's usually over by that point.
So I was glad to see that we got back in it, and I think we were down around 10 points at the turn.
And we made it fun. But just didn't execute on one of the shots late to win.

Q. Talk about your tee shot on 18. Hindsight now, you said you hit that soft 8-iron in. Would you have chosen a different club off the tee to put yourself in a different position to maybe be able to bring it in right-to-left?
TONY ROMO: Any further back would be an even, probably a tougher shot, just because more time for the wind to hit it.
But no, it was the right club. I just -- I needed to really hit a hard cut almost. You know, anybody who plays this course knows that last hole, when it's a hard right-to-left wind, you can't bring it in from the right and just ride the wind, because there's a big tree right in the front.
Now, if I didn't need to make eagle, I'd take the chance and hopefully it doesn't hit the tree there. But you can't hope that it just misses a big tree. So I tried to hit a cut into it, and I held it off pretty good.
But I think you needed to almost hit a real hard fade.

Q. The sportsman you are, Tony, what did you say to Jack on the 18th tee after?
TONY ROMO: We were just talking about whatever happens here, because sometimes you get swept up, the winner kind of does, and it was a great battle today. And I just wanted him to know it was fun, and we'll have to do it again in the future.

Q. On No. 16, you drilled one down the middle of the fairway, and Jack's in the bunker, winds up getting the same score on that hole. How was that playing?
TONY ROMO: When I look back right now, that was the hole that kind of was the difference. And I hit a 5-iron in there, about 222 to the flag, and I just turned it over a little much, but I needed to play a little right-to-left shot being into the wind. It was the right club. I hit it solid and just kind of came off the line about two, three yards left.
And it was a tough up-and-down, just because it's tricky on those greens a little bit sometimes, especially late in the day.

Q. What were your thoughts when Jack's ball went in the water and then when your ball went in the water?
TONY ROMO: Well, I knew his ball going in the water didn't matter. I mean, he was smart. People probably were thinking about it, but chipping from right by the green for 4, even after it goes in the water, wouldn't have made a difference. Because he only loses points if he gets a 7. So even if he chips it on in 4, he could still 2-putt and win the golf tournament.
So I knew I needed a 3 no matter what happened. Even when he hit it into the water it didn't change my thought process, because even if I make 4 and he makes 6, I still lose.
You had to be aggressive. I tried to hit an aggressive shot and it just didn't pan out.

Q. After the first round, Jack called himself a pipsqueak, jokingly, compared to big, strong athletes like yourself. Did you feel like you picked up momentum yesterday and were going to be able to carry it through today to win?
TONY ROMO: I think a lot of it determines when you have a lead the way that Jack does, it's how he comes out and starts the round.
And, you know, he put a lot of pressure on me to play a great round of golf, just because he makes three of the first four holes he birdies.
And you're sitting there already starting the day on 6, and all of a sudden it's going to be a real uphill climb, because you're running out of holes.
I mean, I hit a lot of good golf shots today, made some big putts, and you know, really with the way he played it, it was good to get back in it. Saying all that, once you're in it, you want to win it.

Q. So he's not a pipsqueak?
TONY ROMO: No, he's pretty good. He deserves all the credit today. He went out and won the golf tournament. I don't know how many points, but I think he had 28 or something on the final round. And you're not going to catch the guy who's leading when he scores 28 points very often.

Q. They changed up No. 11, and you really took advantage of it today. Can you talk about that hole specifically and if you felt that was where you kind of felt like you had a chance there?
TONY ROMO: I knew at some point we needed an eagle. You just weren't going to make up shots. He's not going to give you a double bogey. So looking at the scores, the numbers, trailing by around 10 at the turn, I think, you just needed to have something start.
So I think I was down nine on that hole, and he's a good putter, a really good putter, and he chips it well. So that sets up good for him, that hole, just in the sense of making a birdie.
So the only way to kind of gain some points was to make, hopefully make an eagle. So I took an aggressive line, hit it at the flag. I caught a break with the putt, and I made it.

Q. Can you describe where your drive was and what your second shot was?
TONY ROMO: Yeah, pin's on the left, really the front, middle left. And you almost have to try to get it in that bowl area on the left side.
So the safe play for me would be on the right side of the green. If it comes in, good; if it doesn't, you're chipping from the right. But at the time it's a 3 you're trying for.
So I'm running out of holes. There's eight left. I'm down nine points. He's going to probably make eight or nine or ten points in the back nine, which means I'm going to need to make 20.
And the only way I thought about doing that was to take an aggressive line. And I did. I hit it right where I wanted to and made the putt.

Q. From how far, would you say?
TONY ROMO: Maybe 25 feet, probably.

Q. And then I was also curious if you guys did much talking throughout the round?
TONY ROMO: You know, we both kind of played a little bit, but Jack's a nice guy. So at different times we had a little lull and break. He asked about my wife and I asked about Heather and all that good stuff.
But he's a great guy. He deserves all the credit for winning this golf tournament. He went out there and won the golf tournament. That's not always the case, but he went and took it today.

Q. I was curious, coming into the tournament, obviously you had the shoulder injury about eight months ago. At what point had you got to the point where you were playing the kind of golf again that you were used to?
TONY ROMO: Well, I mean, for me it's always seven months off, basically, of golf. I might touch a club one more time from here on out until next February.
So, I don't know, usually takes me two or three months for me to figure out what kind of swing I'm going to use that year. But usually the same routine, play in four, five tournaments, and just kind of be able to compete a little bit.

Q. In your golf resumÃ©, what would you say is the biggest win you've had so far? If you had won this, would this have been the biggest?
TONY ROMO: This would probably have been the most well-known. Obviously, NBC does a great job. American Century. They put a great tournament on that makes all the players, there's a reason why all the guys come out and want to be a part of this.
It's first-class all the way. And it's a great time to see the guys you haven't seen in a while. And every time I get the chance to play golf with John Elway or Michael Jordan, I feel pretty lucky.

Q. Was there some question as to who was away on 17 green?
TONY ROMO: A little bit, but I think it was pretty apparent. He probably had me by a foot or so. And that was a big putt. Made a good one.

Q. If anybody would have told you today you would have shot a 66, do you think you would have -- do you think you would have won the tournament? And how does this round of golf rate with the other great rounds of golf that you've played? Is it the best?
TONY ROMO: I haven't really had time to reflect on that. I've had some good closing rounds before. I think I shot a 65 to win another tournament. 67. So I get more comfortable as the week goes on sometimes, in tournament golf.
This was a good round. It's hard to say, because I didn't win, that it's the best. But it was fun. Disappointing right now, but it was a good round.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

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