PEBBLE BEACH, CA - FEBRUARY 09: Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys watches his tee shot on the 17th hole during the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links on February 9, 2013 in Pebble Beach, California.

Former Cowboys quarterback and CBS analyst-to-be Tony Romo has long loved golf and obviously still yearns to compete at age 37, so this news is not surprising.

Romo is one of 117 players entered in an 18-hole U.S. Open local qualifier next Monday at Split Rail Links & Golf Club in Aledo.

Romo is scheduled to tee off at 1:30 p.m. as part of the final threesome, along with Fort Worth pros Mike Rausch and David Lutterus. Seven players from the Aledo qualifier get to move on to U.S. Open sectional qualifying on June 5. The two next-highest finishers in Aledo will be slotted as sectional alternates.

The odds seem against Romo advancing, given that he shot 78-77-77 early last month in South Carolina’s Azalea Invitational. And that tournament was his first in nearly four years because back and collarbone injuries forced him to curtail golf as he tried to prolong his Cowboys career.

The fact that he has returned to playing semi-serious golf is another indicator that his health has improved, but also that he has no intention of returning to football should a quarterback job open next season. Why would he risk a golf injury if he had any thought of playing football again?

Perhaps with more time to devote to golf, Romo can knock off rust and replicate the form that had him playing at near-scratch level before his football injuries.