Michael Block imprinted the words “WHY NOT” on his TaylorMade Golf Balls.
Could it be a 46 year old Southern Cal club professional from Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, Mission Viejo, shot two 70s at Oak Hill during the first and second rounds of the 105 th PGA Championships? Why not?
Can a club professional who spends most of his time at the lesson tee, beat players like Jon Rahm, Ricky Fowler, and Patrick Cantlay who offers him odds to play in their home country by just one stroke? Why not?
Could it be possible that a PGA Club Pro is only in the top 20 players at the half-way point of the PGA Championship in the past 20 years? Why not?
“I’m not sure why it makes me feel emotional, but it does.”
Michael Block was in tears when told that he would be playing before Masters champion Jon Rahm.
He shot 70-70 on the Oak Hill course and will make it to the finals @PGAChampionship. pic.twitter.com/FbDV0GHEVd
May 19, 2023 — PGA TOUR
Block began stamping the “Why Not” ball more than 15 years ago. He said that he used to be the kind of player who would question his own every shot. He’d even book hotel rooms before making the cut, or qualifying for a tournament. One day, he was about to win a tournament when he asked himself: Why don’t you win?
Blockie (his nickname on his bag) picks up this storyline: “Why don’t you just clip it, spin it right three feet and make the putt?” “I ask, Why not?” “I started saying that and to do it, the stamping of my golf balls began.”
He had a 22 footer in 2007 at Bear Creek, Murrieta in California, in a play-off to get into the U.S. Open in Oakmont.
“I was standing behind the putt and my caddie whispered over my ear, ‘If we make this, then we’re going to the Open.’ I replied, Why not? Then, I drained it and got into the U.S. Open, my first ever event.
Block played at the Shinnecock U.S. Open in 2018 and described Oak Hill’s course as the result of Oakmont and Shinnecock having a “baby.” He also did a walk-and-talk on the 14 hole with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, which he nailed.
“I’m only your local club pro.” It’s my job. I don’t throw balls. They think I have the best job on the planet. I have a wonderful job. “I have a club that is very supportive and lets me play. But I don’t even hit a bucket full of balls once a week,” explained he. “I tell everyone that I used to practice a lot back when I was younger. “I’m older now and my swing remains the same.”
Block, who finished tied for second in the club professional championship last month, was exempt from the PGA Professional Championship. This is the fifth time Block has been granted this exemption. Block had previously missed the cut at all six majors he had played in. He also had only made the cut four times in 24 career starts on PGA Tour, the last being in 2015 with a best T-69.
Why not try something different this week? Block shot a 65 in the first round of American Express on Tour in January, and a 72 in a windy Southern Hills at last year’s PGA Championship. Block is a regular back home, playing with Tour pros Beau Hossler who, if lucky, will give him a chance, and Cantlay who, if they’re lucky, will bet on his straight-up play.
Block said, “I know that my game isn’t up to theirs, but I am pretty close and I can compete.” “I have been building up that confidence by finishing those rounds in which I thought, Why not? Why not compete here? Why not make it here in Oak Hill? “I’m not scared of them anymore. To be honest.”
He said that his claim to fame was leading the U.S. Open by being one of the first players to make an early par, but then he would look at the scoreboard to fade away. Block made three birdies on the first five golf holes of Friday’s round and finished T-2 with 3 under. Block made a bogey on hole 17 but rebounded with a birdie on the first. He made an erroneous bogey at the fourth par-5 hole from 89 yard away and then stepped up to the fifth tee.
It was a little 8-iron with a front left pin. I love to hit baby draw with my eight-iron. “I’ve been doing it well for the past week,” he said.
This time, not so. He hit the hosel rocket and a dead shank right. Block, we dare say, blocked it so rightly that it almost went out of bounds.
He said: “We’ve been there and done that, and I’m like, Oh, my goodness. The ball was going off, hit the tree and almost killed someone, then came off and went in the deep rough. I was fortunate enough to make double bogey.”
John Jackson, his caddie, said: “I’ve never seen him make a shot like that.”
Dustin Johnson, a two-time major champion, also shanked a shot about a quarter of an hour later. This proves that shanks can strike anyone. Block’s caddie informed him of Johnson’s similar mistake. He said: “Hey, this makes me feel better.”
Block’s 45-minute lesson costs $125 but he gives a tip for free on how to fix the shank.
He said, “Your hands get too far in front of and away from you.” “I felt my hands closer to my body in the impact zone during the last four golf holes.
What was the result? He said, “I flushed them all.”
He was able to get a par out of the bunker on No. He looked up at the sky, extended his arms, and said, “Thank You.”
Michael Block dominates the Southern California PGA Section.
Block has appeared in the following 10 seasons:There are 145 events.
43 Wins
26 Runner-up
126 Top-10sThis means he has placed 1st or second in 48% of events in the last decade and within the top 10….87%
Tuesday Q info (@acaseofthegolf1) April 19, 2023
He said that making the cut, being low club professional and being recognized for this feat at the champion’s Trophy ceremony was the final box he had to check in a career that has seen him named Southern California PGA Player of the year 10 times as well as the 2022 PGA Professional Player of the year. He’s not content to sit back and enjoy his success.
“My game is great.” “I’ve got it.” “I’m at my peak right now,” said he. “I’ve got no pressure. He said, “I have a job and a paycheck at my club, so I won’t need to putt this week to pay for my mortgage.” From this point on, nothing can go wrong and I cannot tell you how happy it makes me.
What would be your ultimate “why not” for Block?
He said, “To win by far.” As strange as it may sound, I am going to compete. “I promise you.”
