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Tony Romo, Danny Woodhead, Happy Gilmore attempting to qualify for U.S. Open at Oakmont  

Brian Jones Profile Picby:Brian Jones•04/17/25•

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Tony Romo Danny Woodhead Happy Gilmore
Tom R. Smedes/Special to RGJ / USA TODAY NETWORK//Denny Medley-Imagn Images//Bobby Goddin/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tony Romo, Danny Woodhead and Happy Gilmore (not Adam Sandler) are looking to be part of the U.S. Open this year. It was announced on Thursday that the three are among the notable names attempting to qualify locally for the tournament at Oakmont on June 12-15.

“Local qualifying, conducted over 18 holes at 110 sites in 43 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico, will take place between April 16-May 19,” the U.S. Open wrote on X/Twitter. “Those players who advance will join a group of locally exempt players in final qualifying, which will be conducted over 36 holes at 10 U.S. and three international sites. The final stage will be held in England, Japan and Texas on May 19, with 10 more qualifying sites scheduled for Monday, June 2: two in Ohio and one each in California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Washington and Canada.”

For those who are wondering, Happy Gilmore is a freshman golfer at Ball State. Last year, the Bloomington, Indiana native finished tied for 11th in the Indiana High School state finals and was a four-time all-state golfer. He was born Landon James Gilmore but got the nickname “Happy” when he won a long drive competition at the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Tournament around the age of 9, according to his bio.

Tony Romo and Danny Woodhead have PGA Tour experience

Tony Romo has played in four PGA Tour events, missing the cut each time. The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback talked about his golf game on GOLF’s Subpar podcast in 2020, saying that he spends a lot of time working on his skill set.

“I would say, starting off the year if it’s not in the football season, which changes obviously when I have to travel and for games, ya know, but I’ll be out there for a good six to eight hours, once in a while,” he said then, per Golf.com. Romo spent 14 seasons in the NFL and was named to the Pro Bowl four times.

Danny Woodhead competed in the U.S. Open Local Qualifying in 2022 and advanced to the finals. The former NFL running back played in the league from 2009-2017 and recorded 2,238 rushing yards, 2,698 receiving yards and 32 total touchdowns.