The head golf pro at Arroyo Trabuco Country Club begins a typical work day at the lesson tee around 8 a.m. Michael Block instructs students until nightfall, breaking only to return to the golf shop to answer phone calls and emails or maybe to sneak in a few holes with his sons.
Any aspiring golfers who hoped to take lessons from Block this weekend will have to wait a few more days. The 46-year-old teaching pro from Mission Viejo, Calif., will be at the PGA Championship trying to turn an unlikely success story into an unfathomable one.
Block can etch his name in the record books again on Sunday if he can somehow stay near the top of the leaderboard. The highest a PGA professional has ever finished at the PGA Championship is a tie for 11th by Tommy Aycock in 1974 and Lonnie Nielsen in 1986. Since then, Block has played with personalized golf balls embossed with the two-word motto “WHY NOT?” For Block, the words are a reminder to swing confidently and dream big each time he gets the chance to play a tournament alongside golf’s biggest stars.
Some encouraging performances in recent PGA events have also boosted Block’s confidence. At last year’s PGA Championship, Block played the second round in a group just in front of the one featuring Tiger Woods. He shot a 73 in front of crowds “ten deep on every hole.” Block didn’t encounter any real adversity until he followed up a bogey on the par-5 4th by badly shanking his tee shot on the next hole. The ball might have careened out of bounds had it not hit a tree and settled in the deep rough.
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