“He has worked for so long for something like this and he just deserves this. Wow.’ I’m losing my voice and my hands hurt from clapping so hard,” Val Block said of her husband’s remarkable week. Not bad for a player who had never made the cut in six previous tries at a major. The ensuing par putt secured Block a place among the top 15 and ties, guaranteeing him a slot in next year’s PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky.īlock’s finish was the best for a club pro at the PGA Championship since Lonnie Nielsen finished in a tie for 11th in 1986 at Inverness Club. After hitting his approach into the deep rough on a downslope left of the green, Block faced a blind chip shot to the green that settled 8 feet from the hole. “I go, ‘What? Seriously?’ He had to tell me five times that I made it.”īlock added another clutch shot in his round. “Rory is walking down the pathway 20 yards away from me and turns around and starts walking back towards me with his arms open to give me a hug. ![]() “So I hit it, and it’s just right at it, but I can’t see it, just like now, and all a sudden (the ball) disappears,” he said, comparing the bright lights in the interview room to the glare of the sun. What Block never could have imagined is having McIlroy, a four-time major champion, deliver the news of Block’s ace on the 151-yard, par-3 15th. Though in Block’s dreams, he envisioned playing in the final group with Tiger Woods, he was more than happy to do so over a weekend in which he spent Saturday paired with Justin Rose and Sunday with Rory McIlroy. I didn’t know it was going to happen, but I knew if I just played my darned game, right, that I could do this. “I’m in next week as the last sponsor’s exemption, which is really even more mind-boggling now,” Block said. ![]() Shortly after walking off the 18th green following the trophy presentation he shared with tournament champion Brooks Koepka, Block received a phone call informing him he’s been invited to compete at the Colonial next week. ![]() Oh, and to all those back at Arroyo Trabuco gearing up to party with him soon, you’ll have to wait. Michael Block is cherishing every moment of a storybook PGA Championship. ![]() In doing so, he’s earned a payday of close to $290,000, which is far more than the $75,000 check he received for winning the 2014 Club Professional National Championship at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Over a four-day stretch at the brutish East Course, the 46-year-old club pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo held his own against the best in the world, became a gallery favorite, conducted national television interviews between shots, made a hole-in-one, and posted a 1-over 281 to finish in a tie for 15th, which qualifies him to compete in the major next year. “We’re going to have a crazy good time tonight, and I look forward to it,” Block said with a beaming smile on Sunday after he lived out every hacker’s dream. On Sunday, the once little-known golf pro from Southern California is heading back to the bar for a few – maybe more – celebratory drinks with his friends and family knowing his days of living in anonymity might be over for the near future.įinishing in the top 15 at a major and making an ace during the final round with the entire sport watching will do that. Michael Block recalled how only a week ago he was having drinks at the Pittsford Pub – a few par-5s away from where the PGA Championship was being held at Oak Hill in suburban Rochester, New York – and no one knew who he was.
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