It’s too easy to look at Michael Block (Titleist Pro V1) and consider him a one-tournament wonder.
The longtime club pro in California came into the Charles Schwab Challenge last week running on adrenalin after tying for 15th in the PGA Championship the week before. Everything had gone right for Block, the everyman who had practically become Superman and was unofficially crowned the People’s Champion.
Expecting him to tee it up four days later in the Charles Schwab Challenge on a sponsor’s exemption and duplicate what he’d done in a major was, to say the least, wishful thinking.
The week before he was just one of 20 club pros playing against the elite players on the planet and there was no pressure on him. That changed over the course of four magical days. The focus was on him in the Charles Schwab Challenge. Everywhere he went he was besieged for autographs and fist bumps. He willingly obliged and even found himself kibbitzing before and after shots. Clearly, his mindset was not squarely on the task at hand. It was like he was playing with house money and having fun.
His tee shots were errant and erratic. “The worst tee shots I’ve ever hit in my life are today,” he said after he hit a ball out of bounds on the 10th tee in the first round. It landed on the gravel path of a bridge with no free relief.
He hit the ball clear of a swath of trees and came to rest just off of the green, after which the TV announcer exclaimed: “He just added to the legend.”
He ended up parring the hole, but finished the round last overall at 11-over par. He settled down in the second round and shot a respectable four-over par, but again finished at the rear of the pack.
But here’s where I think perspective is needed. Three shots back at 12-over par was PGA Tour regular Harry Higgs (TaylorMade TP5x), who shot seven-over par on the final round. Six shots back at nine-over par was Zach Johnson (Titleist Pro V1x), whose résumé incudes wins in the 2007 Masters and 2015 Open Championship. There were many high-profile players who missed the cut, including Jordan Spieth (Titleist Pro V1x), Tony Finau (Titleist Pro V1), Sungjae Im (Titleist Pro V1x), Tommy Fleetwood (TaylorMade TP5) and Chris Kirk (Titleist Pro V1x), to name a few.
The winner was Emiliano Grillo (Callaway Chrome Soft X), who finished tied at eight-under par with Adam Schenk (Titleist Pro V1) and won in a playoff. Schenk, who came into the tournament ranked 91 in the world, recorded only his second PGA Tour win in 206 events played. His last win happened in the 2015-2016 season.
The fact the winning score was only eight-under tells you something about the difficultly of the tournament, which was played in pristine conditions compared to the rain, cool and wind that plagued the PGA Championship for the first three rounds.
The Schwab tournament attracted nine of the PGA’s top 20 players without it being an elevated event, and it was obvious that Block wasn’t the only one in the field who didn’t have much in the tank.
He is next scheduled to play in the RBC Canadian Open, June 8-11, on a sponsor’s exemption, and several top-ranked players have committed to it as a tune-up for the U.S. Open, June 15-18. Block will still receive a warm welcome from those connected with the tournament and the fans. Collectively, there will be an aura surrounding Block for some time.
To quote him, “Why not?”
There’s already talk about a movie and a book about Block. He is the American Golf Dream. Surely there will be endorsements coming his way, not to mention what he can charge for golf lessons. It was $150 for an hour before the PGA Championship. Imagine if you wanted to play a round of golf with him what he could command for his time.
Let’s just say that nothing can ever take away from what he did in a major, and everything else is a bonus.
