CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Early in the afternoon on Friday at the 2025 PGA Championship, one of the fourth major’s folk heroes stood in the fairway of the par-5 seventh hole. He pulled driver out of the bag and gave it a mighty lash.
When the ball landed safely on the green, Michael Block, sitting at 12 over for the day, turned to the Quail Hollow Club crowd and bowed. With only three holes left in his championship, the club pro who had a week to remember at the 2023 PGA at Oak Hill was still basking in the spotlight.
“I love crowds,” Block told GOLF.com after finishing at 15 over through two rounds to miss the cut. “That’s kind of the funny part is I wish there was a huge crowd on every hole because that’s when I hit my shots. I really do. I always do. It’s the weirdest thing. When there’s no one around is when I hit my worst shots.
“That’s something that I need more in my life is a bigger crowd. I just need to play a little better so it could happen. I could only imagine what would have happened if I would have been playing really good this week.”
The 49-year-old Block, the head professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, Calif., is still greeted by yells of “Blockie!” all over the grounds here.
Block electrified Oak Hill Country Club two years ago during a four-day stretch that saw him make a final-round ace while being paired with Rory McIlroy and finish T15.
He rolled up to this week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow hoping to engineer another PGA Championship fairytale, but the golf gods’ response to this dream was the same as Block’s when he was informed of his infamous ace in 2023.
“No way.”
Block carded a four-over 75 in Round 1 but got chewed up on Friday, making four doubles and five bogeys en route to an 82.
“All it is, it comes to hitting the shots you are trying to hit,” Block said of being put in the torture chamber by Quail Hollow. “Honestly, I pretty much did that. But the course obviously wasn’t suited for me at all. Zero roll and firm greens was a very bad combination for a 49-year-old that carries it 270. It was a wake-up call that with these new guys, hey, more power to them, but I’m going to be very happy going to play with the seniors here in a year.”
But Block, who will be traveling to Colonial next week for the Charles Schwab Challenge, didn’t feel any difference in his game this week compared to that magical run at Oak Hill.
The immense amount of rain Charlotte got early in the week has made the course play even longer than expected. Couple that with some hard-to-read greens, and Block is going home on Friday instead of wearing the PGA Championship glass slipper again.
“Honestly, I’m playing the same,” Block said. “I could really read the greens at Oak Hill. I couldn’t really see them quite as well here. The pins are more difficult here for sure. The pin placements are more difficult. The greens are more firm and there’s no roll. It’s just all a combination of — that’s why the scores aren’t that low. I think you’re going to be seeing it by the end of the week, I don’t think people will be going forward they will be kind of coming back a bit if anything.”
Despite his claim that he’s ready to tee it up with the seniors, Block left no doubt about his plans for next May’s PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia.
“Oh yeah. I’ll show up and I’ll qualify,” Block said. “I’ll be there. Hopefully it’s firm. I can’t have soft.”
Asked about the shot he’ll remember from this week, Block, the PGA Championship’s great showman, briefly thought about the tee shot he hit to seven feet on the par-3 17th during the first round.
“Yeah, that was a nice little 4-iron,” Block said, before turning away to thumb through the 157 shots he hit through two rounds.
The answer was obvious. After all, he’d just taken a bow for it.
“That driver off the deck, that thing was pretty dirty,” Block said with a slight chuckle. “That thing went as far as my driver did off the tee. Man, it was pretty, pretty good. Yeah, dirty.”
The 257-yard driver off the deck left Block with a 65-foot eagle putt. He barely missed it for a tap-in birdie.
Another slight bow followed as Michael Block exited Quail Hollow, stage left.
