Romero: A matter of self-expression
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Goodness forbid, it must be said of any man, that Argentina’s Andres Romero will go on to define his golf career by shots that he would sell his soul to get back. He is not quite on the order of, say, Jean Van de Velde, but he has had his moments. Not the least of which befell him at Oakland Hills’ 16th, the hole made famous by Gary Player, and which could then be made infamous by Romero here in the PGA Championship.Romero came to attention – to those indiscreet enough to notice -- in the second round Friday when he authored a quadruple bogey-8 at the 16th, a 406-yard dogleg right over water. This is where Player hit a phenomenal and dangerous go-for-broke 9-iron up over that big willow tree and onto the green, and went on to win the 1972 PGA.
Romero had a different tale.
“I played a great first shot,” Romero said, through an interpreter, “then a perfect 9-iron from 140 yards.”
(Gary Player had perhaps that same shot, but back when the 9-iron didn’t travel that far, which is what made his shot dangerous and phenomenal.)
“It bounced in front of the green,” Romero continued, “but like the wind blows just in the moment, and it went down to the water.”
(The interpreter was functional, though perhaps not fluid. But functional is good.)
“Then again I had tried to make a good shot,” Romero said, “but again a lot of backspin, again to the water. And after that, I got made and I played very disconcentrated, not very concentrated the whole rest of the round.”
And this gave him an 8, and then a double bogey-6 at the 18th – “I was mad” -- left him with an 8-over 78 and in dire straits.
Then came the 65, an accomplishment on a storm-battered day that overshadowed even Paul Azinger’s making the cut and getting through the third round. This was no little thing for a 48-year-old with little playing time these days, who is burdened at the moment with being the U.S. Ryder Cup captain and having to make his four captain’s picks Tuesday in New York.
Romero, though he wishes it weren’t so, will be remembered for blowing his big chance at winning the British Open. This was in 2007 at Carnoustie, where Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington were battling it out and were trying their best to crash, and there sat Romero, in the shaggy rough at the 17th.
And then he pulled his 2-iron. You could practically hear the sc reams of those who saw him playing Russian Roulette with a loaded gun. The 2-iron, with it’s nearly upright face, is not recommended for trying to get a ball out of heavy round. It’s very tough for that face to cut down into the ball. The recommended move at this point was for Romero to take a more lofted club, say a 7-iron or 8-iron, and whack the ball down the fairway to set up his next shot.
But he was driven. He was making 10 birdies on that brutal course, and he wasn’t going to let it up now. He was going for the green. And sure enough, the 2-iron couldn’t get down fully to the ball, and the ball went flashing away into oblivion, and Romero’s hopes went with it.
“I didn’t make a mistake,” Romero would insist. “But I don’t think it was a bad shot. Just bad luck.”
And truly, what could a man say who was looking for the nearest cliff?
And so this time, his first 9-iron to the 16th gets knocked down by the wind or whatever, and then the Latin temperament flares, and there goes the second, also into the water, and add it up – 8.
This time, in this memorable third round, Romero hit an 8-iron and birdied from about 10 feet. It was the last of his seven birdies. And Romero, who started the round today tied for 48th, soared to a tie for eighth, in excellent shape when play resumes Sunday, and when he has only 18 holes to play while the top of the leaderboard would be playing 36.
He was an unknown in that ’07 British Open, and now he keeps flirting in the majors – a tie for eighth in the Masters in April,=2 0then 36th in the U.S. Open, for instance.
He does have one major competitor – himself.
Take Romero after that 8 at the 16th Friday.
“I couldn’t come back after that eight,” Romero said. “I made a double bogey at the 18th because I was mad. And then I was almost fighting for the lead, and suddenly I was trying to make the cut, so I was going mad the whole round the rest of the round.”
As someone noted, the translation isn’t quite fluid, but the message is clear. What might happen if Romero ever manages to get a grip on himself?
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