Michael Block’s first go-round on the PGA Tour Champions went better than he could’ve hoped— until the final hole.
The PGA of America professional who became a cult hero at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill played this week’s Dick’s Open on an exemption. The 50-year-old head pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club opened with a six-under 66 on Friday.
“For me to come out here today and shoot what I did my first time out, the pressure I had, everyone’s looking at me, I’ve got all those haters out there which, you know, I love you guys. There you go, I hope you guys like that 66,” Block said.
Block fell back with a Saturday 70, but on Sunday, he put a charge into the crowd in Endicott, New York, when he went out in five-under 32 and then made birdies at 14, 15 and 16 to get within one of the lead.
With the leaders still with several holes to play behind him, Block’s chances of winning were slim despite his late birdie barrage. Then, any hope he had quickly disappeared on the 54th and final hole of his senior tour debut.
Block’s tee shot found the fairway, but then things came unraveled when his wedge shot hit a tree and plugged in a bunker, leading to a finishing triple bogey and a T9 finish at 13 under, five back of eventual winner Dicky Pride. In the end, Block would’ve needed a birdie-birdie finish to get into a playoff with Pride and Padraig Harrington. He finished par-triple.
“It was exactly what I had dreamed of and wanted to do, to be honest,” Block said of his Champions Tour debut. “And I didn’t hit a bad shot on 18, that was the most frustrating part about it. I only made a couple bogeys the entire week, and for me to triple bogey the last hole when I hit it down the middle of the fairway, hit a 52-degree wedge directly at the pin, and it hit the tree, which I guess that pin honestly wasn’t in the right spot, to be honest. Then it plugs in the bunker, and then all hell breaks loose. I make a triple bogey.
“But that cost me a lot of points, a lot of money, a lot of everything, which is very frustrating. I’m just here trying to make my way possibly onto this tour and that hurt a lot.”
Despite the unfortunate finish, Block left the Dick’s Open believing he has what it takes to win on the 50-plus tour, including at next week’s U.S. Senior Open, which Block qualified for.
“I understand that after this week that I can definitely compete here, I can definitely — I can win here,” Block said on Sunday. “My game is pretty good and I look forward to
being out for the next one. Honestly, I’m very fortunate to be playing the [Senior] U.S. Open next week in Columbus at Scioto and I can’t wait to get after it, to be honest, because I’m hitting it pretty good.”
Block said that the reception from his Champions Tour peers was great this week. He said he got “knuckles” from several of his competitors, including Darren Clarke, whom he played with on Saturday.
All in all, Block, ever the showman, called his Champions Tour debut a dream and looked ahead to next week’s major in Columbus with eyes on a prize he says has always been at the top of his list.
“So my idols right now know me, which is really cool, and we’re going to have so much fun next week in Columbus,” Block said. “Columbus, I’m coming for ya.”
And with that, Michael Block’s senior tour debut ended. The three-day odyssey had everything you’d expect: talk of haters, a dream reveal, electric post-shot reactions, playing it up to the crowd and unfettered self-belief that he can take home a trophy against “his idols.”
The Block Party will arrive in Columbus at Scioto Country Club next week.
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