From New York State to North Ayrshire, Michael Block’s fantastic adventure continues to become ever more surreal and the club pro is determined to grant golf its ‘Rocky II’ sequel when he tees it up in Open qualifying on Tuesday.
Six weeks ago, the 47-year-old left the teaching bay on his home range at the Arroyo Trabuco Club, 50 miles south of Los Angeles, to stun the sport at the US PGA Championship in Rochester. Ranked 3,580th in the world, Block finished 15th in the season’s second major, trading blows with the game’s heavyweights.
There is no current campaigner bigger than Rory McIlroy but in the final round Block – the father of two who charges his club’s members $150 a lesson – prized the spotlight away from his garlanded partner on that Sunday with a hole-in-one on the 15th that will forever preside in golf’s folklore.
A star was born at Oak Hill that week and it is his mission to ensure it shines again over the Wirral links in a fortnight. All it will take is for Block to grab one of the four spots on offer at Dundonald Links in Tuesday’s 36-hole shootout.
It is an unlikely challenge considering the fact the 72-man field also includes a Ryder Cup player in Rafa Cabrella Bello, multiple DP World Tour winners in Robert Rock and Aaron Rai and a former world top-20 LIV Golf millionaire in Jason Kokrak, but fortunately Block has a penchant for the “unlikely”. Or he has since he started acting like Michael Block, that is.
“Before Oak Hill my wife [Valerie] told me that I should just be myself,” he told Telegraph Sport. “I’d played in four PGAs before, never made the cut, but each time had walked in there all stiff and rigid, trying to mimic the Tour pros and being ever so professional. But Val was right – that’s not me. So in Rochester, I just did what I usually do, don’t practice too much, have a few beers at night, try to interact with the crowd, be loose and have a blast..
“Wouldn’t you know, it worked, so I’ll do it again. Maybe I lost sight of that a bit at the Canada Open [the event the week after the US PGA where his instant fame earned him an invite]. That opening 77 was not me. So the next day I didn’t even visit the range, just moseyed out there and shot a 69. It was a lesson and I’m good at those.”
In the space of seven days, Block went from the darling of social media to its dumping ground. In Toronto he made some ill-advised comments on a podcast, suggesting he could beat McIlroy if he could only ever hit it as far and the ridicule rained down.
“Yeah, I guess I saw first hand how they build you and then knock you down. But I meant no disrespect to Rory. Hell, no. I worship the guy. All I was saying is that if I could launch it 70 yards further off the tee then I would be better than I am. And I’m a plus-six handicap so I’m not bad. But that’s never going to happen. I just have to work the best with what I got and I think that what made me relatable to the Oak Hill crowd and some watching on TV. And that’s the opinion that counts to me.”
Block has received “20,000 messages and counting” in the aftermath. “There was one from [basketball legend] Michael Jordan and some other jaw-dropping names, but mostly from people who said what I did inspired them and told them to chase their dreams.
“I had one from a guy I played with in a regional event some years ago, who I called out for a rules violation. It was a bitter situation and stayed bitter, but all these years on Oak Hill made him reach out and say ‘yes I did it’ and to thank me. It means I have an acquaintance back and that’s the beauty of this game. Dundonald this last few days has confirmed that to me.”
Block decided to enter qualifying for Hoylake before his Rochester heroics and was looking for a B&B for him and his caddy “a fellow club pro who’ve I brought along for the ride”. But Dundonald Links reacted to his major breakthrough with an offer to stay on site in one of its five-star lodges. It was a canny move, because Block’s celebrity has already garnered plenty of attention.
“It’s been amazing and shows how closely the Scots follow golf. I’ve had kids come for selfies and for autographs. And adults, too. I’ve been told there will be a lot following me tomorrow and I hope I can perform well for them. Yet they will see I’m no different to them. I only hit my seven iron 163 yards – I hit it nowhere. I teach 10 handicappers who can outdrive me! When they watch a superstar like Rory, they think, ‘I can never do that’. It’s the opposite with me.
“I’m just going to enjoy it and not even check on the leaderboard. Of course, I’d love to get to Hoylake and if I do I might try to hook up with Rory and try to play a few holes with him. It’d be special because I truly believe he’s going to win this one. He’s so awesome, the best ball-striker I’ve witnessed. And to think, I played with him in the final round of a major and had a hole-in-one. That story will never get old for me.”
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