JANESVILLE — Ever wonder what an NFL player does during the summer after his team's minicamps and the OTAs are done?

In the case of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, he spends some of his time playing other sports.

For Romo, his second love always has been golf, and on a fairly warm Friday afternoon he was walking down the plush fairways of Janesville's Riverside Golf Club playing in his first Ray Fischer Amateur Championship.

Romo, a 2-handicap, opened his first round with a 3-under par 69, good enough to put him four shots behind leader Andy De Keuster.

"I decided to visit my family," said Romo, a Burlington native who tried to qualify for the U.S. Open earlier this month but fell short. "With my dad (Ramiro) playing in this event, I told him to sign me up and he did."

Romo has played in a number of celebrity tournaments, including one earlier this month at Torrey Pines — the site of the U.S. Open.

"After playing the 7,600-yard layout at Torrey Pines with the thick rough and the firm greens, you can't really compare this course to it," said Romo, who had six birdies and three bogeys in his round and tees off today at 7:10 a.m.

"I had some fun out here and played in front of some very knowledgeable fans who really understand the game of golf."

Romo hopes he and his father, who shot a 74, will be able to play all 72 holes of the tournament. A cut will be made after today's second round.

"Having my dad play in the group behind me was very special," Romo said.

One golfer who most certainly will be around for the next two days is De Keuster, a senior at Northwestern who blitzed the course for a 7-under par 65 and led by two shots over Waunakee's Dustin Schwab, Monroe's Nick Krattiger, River Falls' Travis Meyer and Janesville's Matt Behm.

"The 65 is my lowest round in the Ray Fischer," said De Keuster, a Franksville native who had eight birdies and one bogey in his round. "I played smart golf today and my course management was solid. I hit a lot of 3-irons off the tee and got off to a good start with birdies on my first two holes."

Sitting in sixth place, three shots off the pace, were Lake Geneva's Alex Gaugert, Kenosha's Todd Schaap and former Middleton golfer, Danny Zimmerman, a senior-to-be at the University of Wisconsin.

"I played a solid round," said Zimmerman, who had six birdies and two bogeys in his round of 68. "Except for two holes, bogeys on Nos. 11 and 18, I was satisfied with my game today."