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