Blockie now has more sequels than Rocky.
And, like the films, he continues to draw mixed reviews.
We’re speaking, of course, about Michael Block, the popular, if polarizing, Southern California club pro who enjoyed yet another star turn this past weekend by taking the lead into the final round of the Ally Challenge on the PGA Tour Champions.
Along the way, Block flashed familiar on-course skills—flushing irons, draining putts, high-fiving fans and tournament volunteers—backed by familiar off-course comments that veered from humble to cocksure. Per usual, his performance prompted both applause and eye-rolls.
That’s Block for you: part hype man, part lightning rod.
“One of the biggest things for me is like I never want the crowd to be bored,” Block said after posting a bogey-free 65 on Saturday at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Michigan. “Every once in a while, I look at the crowd and they’ll all quiet. They’ll talking on their cells and they’re not even looking at what’s going on. To me, I’m kind of more of the guy like, hey, we’re out here, let’s go. I try to get them pumped up.”
Block didn’t get the Hollywood ending. Steve Alker beat him by two, as Block’s swing got balky on Sunday and he closed with a 2-over 74. Still, it was another strong showing on the senior circuit for Block, who turned 50 this past June. His T-3 finish gave him his second top 5 in five Champions Tour starts this season and earned him a spot in next week’s Sanford International in Sioux Falls.
That alone says plenty. Whatever you make of Block’s showmanship, it’s no small feat for a graybeard club professional to go toe-to-toe with the best senior players in the world. Block, in other words, isn’t just talk.
He can work his ball. He can work a gallery. He can also get the Twittersphere worked up.
Witness, for instance, the online response to Block’s celebratory club flip after he stuck one pin-high on the par-3 8th hole on Sunday.
“I’m a 15 and I don’t celebrate when I hit the middle of the green,” @BobMulligan19 wrote.
“What even is this?” Tatts37 added. “I am a 25 handicapper and even I wouldn’t be getting too excited with that.”
So it goes in the age of social media. No perceived transgression goes unpunished.
The reaction is part of the Block story now, and it goes back to the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, where he emerged as an Everyman folk hero, only to inflame some of those same fans who felt his newfound celebrity had metastasized into swagger. (It didn’t help Block’s cause when he claimed that he’d be among the best players in the world if he could hit the ball as far as Rory McIlroy)
Block, for his part, continues to fill dual roles in the public eye as aw-shucks star and out-of-control ego.
At the Ally, he toggled between humility and confidence when talking about his game. He marveled at the ball-striking of Sunday playing partners Alker and Padraig Harrington, while also making clear that he believes he belongs in the mix with them.
“I played a little bit different golf than I did the first two days because I was nervous, I had never been there before. So, it was a learning experience for
me,” Block said. “Now, saying that, I believe fully that you could see Blockie, Alker, Harrington in many future groups on Sundays or coming in the future because I do believe I do have the game to be
able to compete against these guys.”
There was the humility. And there was the boastfulness of Blockie, referring to himself in the third person.
The next installment in the franchise screens week in Sioux Falls.
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