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BANDON, Ore. — It was a rollercoaster week of emotions, expectations, scoring and conditions for Michael Block at the 2026 PGA Professional Championship, and that rollercoaster continued after he finished his final round.
Block walked off the 18th green at Bandon Dunes on Wednesday with a huge smile on his face, high-fiving everyone in sight and hugging his friends who came to watch. Block shot 3-under 69 , climbing 26 spots on the leaderboard and into the top 20, which is exactly what he needed to do to have a chance at punching his ticket to Aronimink. When he signed his scorecard, he sat in a tie for 17th.
But the mood turned more solemn when he began thinking about one person who was missing from the gallery. Just a month before he finished T-15 at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, he came to Bandon Dunes with a group of friends on a boys trip. One of the friends who was on that trip with him passed away just two weeks ago.
"If he was here right now, it would be insane," Block said while fighting tears.
Block was shaken up by the thought of his friend not being present, and said he definitely felt the vibes of that boys trip to Bandon once he arrived there this week. But before that, he wasn't as confident.
"To be honest, I didn't think I was going to make the PGA [Championship] this year," Block said. "I don't know, I just had a vibe where I thought I was gonna miss it, and now it's actually looking like I'm going to Philly, which is really cool."
Block's third-round 78 on Tuesday proved to be an outlier, as he finished under-par in the other three rounds and capped it off with his best outing of the tournament on a brutally windy day on the Oregon coast. His early tee time helped him handle the conditions.
"Yesterday was a bad day, the pins were very difficult and I went out right in the middle of [the wind]," Block said. "Today, I knew that the winds would at least be on the low side when I [teed off], the low side here is 10-15 mph, and then I just got after it . . . I knew I had to shoot a couple under."
Block, who has qualified for the PGA Championship four years in a row, is a self-proclaimed "super music guy." He's always listening to music on his way to the golf course. Usually, it's "chill vibe" music, but on Wednesday, the song of choice was "Enter Sandman" by Metallica.
"I was calling myself the mountain lion today," he said. "You know what the mountain lion does? It attacks from behind. Never attacks from the front. I'm weird. And so I'm like, what's my mountain lion song? And boom, Metallica, let's go. That's the vibe I needed today."
Well, it worked. Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 jumpstarted Block's round. He birdied the eighth to make the turn in bogey-free 33. An even-par back nine was good enough to put him in prime position to finish inside the top 20, which is the threshold to qualify for the second major of the year. As of 4 p.m. local time, he sat in a tie for 11th. If he maintains that position through the end of the day, he'll be off to Aronimink.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Michael Block goes low in final round of PGA Professional Championship
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Block walked off the 18th green at Bandon Dunes on Wednesday with a huge smile on his face, high-fiving everyone in sight and hugging his friends who came to watch. Block shot 3-under 69 , climbing 26 spots on the leaderboard and into the top 20, which is exactly what he needed to do to have a chance at punching his ticket to Aronimink. When he signed his scorecard, he sat in a tie for 17th.
But the mood turned more solemn when he began thinking about one person who was missing from the gallery. Just a month before he finished T-15 at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, he came to Bandon Dunes with a group of friends on a boys trip. One of the friends who was on that trip with him passed away just two weeks ago.
"If he was here right now, it would be insane," Block said while fighting tears.
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Block was shaken up by the thought of his friend not being present, and said he definitely felt the vibes of that boys trip to Bandon once he arrived there this week. But before that, he wasn't as confident.
"To be honest, I didn't think I was going to make the PGA [Championship] this year," Block said. "I don't know, I just had a vibe where I thought I was gonna miss it, and now it's actually looking like I'm going to Philly, which is really cool."
You must be registered for see images attach
Block's third-round 78 on Tuesday proved to be an outlier, as he finished under-par in the other three rounds and capped it off with his best outing of the tournament on a brutally windy day on the Oregon coast. His early tee time helped him handle the conditions.
"Yesterday was a bad day, the pins were very difficult and I went out right in the middle of [the wind]," Block said. "Today, I knew that the winds would at least be on the low side when I [teed off], the low side here is 10-15 mph, and then I just got after it . . . I knew I had to shoot a couple under."
Block, who has qualified for the PGA Championship four years in a row, is a self-proclaimed "super music guy." He's always listening to music on his way to the golf course. Usually, it's "chill vibe" music, but on Wednesday, the song of choice was "Enter Sandman" by Metallica.
You must be registered for see images attach
"I was calling myself the mountain lion today," he said. "You know what the mountain lion does? It attacks from behind. Never attacks from the front. I'm weird. And so I'm like, what's my mountain lion song? And boom, Metallica, let's go. That's the vibe I needed today."
Well, it worked. Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 jumpstarted Block's round. He birdied the eighth to make the turn in bogey-free 33. An even-par back nine was good enough to put him in prime position to finish inside the top 20, which is the threshold to qualify for the second major of the year. As of 4 p.m. local time, he sat in a tie for 11th. If he maintains that position through the end of the day, he'll be off to Aronimink.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Michael Block goes low in final round of PGA Professional Championship
Continue reading...
