Romo joins strong Azalea field

The field for the Azalea Invitational golf tournament at the Country Club of Charleston has been blessed through the years with many of the country's top amateur golfers. The entry list for the 2008 tournament is no different with a sprinkling of U.S. Mid-Amateur champions, Walker Cup golfers, top collegians and highly rated juniors.

But one of this year's entrants, although a top golfer, is better known for another sport. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who carries a 1 handicap, has accepted an invitation to play in the event, scheduled for March 27-30.

"He expressed interest through a former Azalea winner, John Finnin, who convinced me he was a good enough player to play in an event like this," said Azalea chairman David Humphreys. "He's played in qualifiers for the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open. He's a serious golfer. We're not inviting him as a celebrity; he's a golfer."

Romo, who has attempted to qualify for the PGA Tour's Byron Nelson Classic and Texas Open, will be competing against a field that includes four former U.S. Mid-Amateur (25 and older) champions, including defending Mid-Amateur champion Trip Kuehne.

Kuehne, a three-time All-American at Oklahoma State, lost to Tiger Woods in the final of the 1994 U.S. Amateur and elected to remain an amateur after college. He is now a hedge fund analyst in Dallas. Kuehne's brother, Hank, plays on the PGA Tour, while his sister, Kelly, is an LPGA star. As the defending Mid-Amateur winner, Trip Kuehne earned a spot in this year's Masters.

Another "former runner-up to Tiger Woods in the U.S. Amateur" in the field is Buddy Marucci of Pennsylvania, the current U.S. Walker Cup captain. Marucci, who lost to Woods in the 1995 U.S. Amateur, played on two Walker Cup teams.

Danny Green, Tim Jackson and Nathan Smith all are past U.S. Mid-Amateur champions who have accepted

invitations, along with Stephen Sear, who was the qualifying medalist at the 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Six-time Azalea winner Frank Ford III advanced to the semifinals of the 2007 U.S. Senior Amateur before losing. Bert Atkinson of Charleston, who was the 1994 runner-up in the U.S. Mid-Am and is a two-time Rice Planters Amateur winner, advanced to the match play portion of the 2007 Mid-Amateur.

Two-time Azalea winner Webb Simpson of Wake Forest will not be able to defend this year because of a schedule conflict. Top collegians entered include Oklahoma State's Trent Leon and Kevin Tway, a former U.S. Junior winner and the son of PGA Tour veteran Bob Tway, along with Florida's Andres Echavarria, a former South American Junior champion.

Top juniors include No. 1-ranked Wesley Graham and No. 3-ranked Peter Uihlein, both of Florida.

"I think we have a very strong field," Humphreys said. "The one thing we don't have this year is as many collegians because they have schedule conflicts. I think it is a very strong, a good Azalea field."

The tournament will fill its final seven spots in an open qualifier scheduled next Monday at the Country Club of Charleston.