Field Level Media
27 May 2023, 06:55 GMT+10
Michael Block improved seven strokes on his opening round, but his experience at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, will end with a missed cut.
The club professional from Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, Calif., received a sponsor's exemption into this week's PGA Tour stop at Colonial Country Club after his stunning T15 at last week's PGA Championship.
Instead of flying from upstate New York back to California, Block was rerouted to Texas. The logistical and emotional roller coaster caught up to him.
Block shot an 11-over 81 on Thursday before turning in a 4-over 74 on Friday. As of Friday afternoon, he was likely to have the worst two-day score of the 120 competitors in the field.
"I have no legs," Block said after his round. "I was scheduled to fly out at 10 a.m. last Saturday. So if that (illustrates whether he had) any confidence on how much I had of making the cut at the PGA Championship.
"Life changed a little bit since then, and I've enjoyed every single moment."
Block started his second round on the back nine and made mostly pars, except for the par-3 13th, where his tee shot landed in the water and he ended up with a double bogey. Then he arrived at the par-4 18th and made a birdie from nearly 19 feet out.
Block carried that into the front nine, getting out of a greenside bunker at the par-5 first hole and leaving himself 4 feet for another birdie. But he followed that with his second double bogey of the round and added two bogeys on his way home.
"The tee shots killed me, honestly, this week," Block said. "I still had the short game. I still had the irons. I still had the putter and everything else, but I'm usually a very straight driver and I love a cut, and I was not feeling it.
"I got it. I'm not even surprised by it. I'm not surprised at all by my kicks and whatever else happened, my lies. It is what it is, and I'm moving on."
The 46-year-old had won over average sports fans with not only his game but also his amiable attitude, seen in "walk-and-talk" television interviews during his rounds Thursday and Saturday of the PGA Championship.
"I thought I was just going to hit a chord with like 40-year-old -- what do they call it? Dad bods," Block said. "I thought I was going to hit a chord with the dad bods, which I think I did, but I think I hit a chord with all the other ones too, which is really, really cool. I met a lot of young people and old people and middle-aged people and whatever else. It's my appreciation to them all. I just want to say thank you."
Block has played in PGA Tour events on sponsor's exemptions before, most recently two tournaments in January in Southern California, where he missed the cut. He also received an exemption into next month's RBC Canadian Open and will attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open.
"I can't wait for Canada, to tell you the truth," Block said. "I cannot wait. I cannot wait to get to Toronto."
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Florida Statesman news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Florida Statesman.
More InformationWASHINGTON D.C.: Reuters has reported that on 7th June, former Vice President Mike Pence will enter the race for the ...
PYONGYANG, North Korea: North Korea attempt failed to launch a satellite on May 31, which prompted raid sirens and a ...
HONG KONG, China: Describing the lack of women in China's top leadership as concerning, the United Nations has recommended the ...
BEIJING, China: Amid its rivalry with the US for reaching new milestones in space, reflecting their competition for global influence, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) report released this week revealed that over the Memorial Day weekend, the start ...
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysia's maritime agency has said that it found a cannon shell believed to be from World War ...
MENLO PARK, California: Facebook parent company Meta Platforms has said it would remove news content in California if the state ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: EU tech chief Margrethe Vestager has said that a draft code of conduct on artificial intelligence (AI) could ...
MOSCOW, Russia: After a turbulent 15 months of store closures and declining demand, Russian designers and brands are assisting the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has said that more than 8.3 million US homes and businesses do not ...
CHICAGO, Illinois: Driven by an ongoing shortage of properties available on the market, in March US single-family home prices rose ...
MIAMI, Florida: Carnival Cruise Lines has said a cruise ship, the Carnival Sunshine, which sailed through rough seas off the ...