4 things to know about PGA club pro Michael Block
While a large part of the PGA Championship leaderboard looks familiar, there's a relative unknown sitting at even through 36 holes.
Michael Block is one of the 20 PGA club professionals who qualified for the event. There hasn't been a club professional inside the top 20 after the opening two rounds of the PGA Championship since 2009, but Block is very well-positioned to break that streak.
Here are four things to know about the 46-year-old club professional from Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California.
He's played in a bunch of TOUR events
Block may be a club professional, but he's no stranger to golf at the highest level. He's played in 24 events on TOUR in his career, making the cut four times. His first appearance came at the 2007 U.S. Open where he went 16-over across two rounds and missed the cut. His best finish came at the 2014 Sanderson Farms when he ended up in a tie for 69th. Earlier this season, he fired an opening-round 65 at the American Express before eventually missing the 54-hole cut at the event.
He's dominant in California PGA events
While Block's success in TOUR events has been hard to come by, he's been an absolute menace in the Southern California PGA Section events.
A little about Michael Block's domination in Southern California PGA Section events.
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) May 19, 2023
In the last 10 seasons Block has played:
145 events
43 Wins
26 Runner-up
126 Top-10s
Meaning he has finished 1st or 2nd in 48% of the events over the last 10 years and in the top 10...87%
Block has an insane winning percentage of 30% in those events with a top-10 return 87% of the time. With those types of performances under the gun, it's no surprise he's competing well at Oak Hill.
He's not immune to the odd shank
Block was cruising along Friday when a very familiar scene to many golfers appeared on the par-3 fifth. Instead of the high pinpoint irons we've seen all tournament from him, he shanked his tee shot well to the right of a tree.
OH NO MICHAEL BLOCK SHANK ALERT. #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/KIl0pSyIC8
— TJ Eckert (@TJEckertKTUL) May 19, 2023
However, he was able to keep positive about the ordeal, salvaging a double-bogey in the process.
"We've all been there, done that," he told Adam Schupak of Golfweek after his second round. "And I'm like, 'Oh, my goodness,' the ball was just going off, somehow hit the tree, almost killed somebody, and then comes off and goes in the deep rough, and I was actually fortunate enough to make a double-bogey.'"
He enjoys a good IPA
A guy who hits the occasional shank and enjoys a good IPA beer probably sounds like a lot of people at your local municipal course. That's exactly what we have on the leaderboard in Block. Following his round Friday, he outlined his plans for the rest of the day, and they sounded very familiar to what a large number of people at home probably wanted to be doing.
Michael Block is the head pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in California — a public course.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) May 19, 2023
He charges $125 for a 45-minute lesson and is currently tied for 10th at the PGA Championship.
His plan after the second round:
"Have lunch and an IPA while watching the coverage on TV." pic.twitter.com/iZ6GOvu1Hh
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