Greetings From The Booth!

You can’t make up stories like this. If you pitched a script to Hollywood about the week Michael Block just had at the PGA Championship, you would be booted right out of town. Block, who just had a top-15 finish in golf’s second major championship of the year, was “the” story of the tournament. You could make the case that he even upstaged winner Brooks Koepka, who captured the fifth major title of his career on Sunday at Oak Hills Country Club.

The PGA Championship is unique in that a handful of PGA club professionals get to compete. Contrary to popular belief, PGA club pros play very little golf. Just ask your club pro about that. Their time is spent on the putting green with members, making sure the pro shop is stocked with golf clubs and gear, charging up golf carts, and ordering new sand for the bunkers. I just described a day in the life of Michael Block, who is the pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in California.

Not this past week…and maybe not for the foreseeable future.

Block captured the hearts of golf fans around the world by making the cut at the PGA, and for a while was in the top-10 with a chance to win. Surely, midnight would come for this Cinderella on the weekend, but it wasn’t until late Sunday that Block started to fade a bit down the leaderboard. Had the story ended there, it still would have been a good one.

Then came the 15th hole, where Michael Block slam-dunked a 7-iron for a hole-in-one, and became an instant folk hero. It was the cherry on his Sunday, as Block collected over $288 thousand for his top-15, and gets to play in next year’s PGA Championship. But the story doesn’t end there. This week, someone offered Block $50 thousand for that seven-iron he used for his ace on Sunday. Surely, he would have a sentimental attachment to that golf club and not give it away at any price. Nope. In true “everyman” form, he offered to hand-deliver it for that kind of money.

Then, Block’s childhood hero, Michael Jordan, sent him a text congratulating him for his PGA showing. And, guess who the crowds are going to be following this week as Block plays at Colonial Country Club? All pretty heady stuff for a guy who just a few weeks ago was probably giving someone a chipping lesson. But, anyone who thinks all of this newfound fame will change Michael Block didn’t hear the humility in his emotional interviews last week.

At some point, Block may fade from memory and become an asterisk in the annals of professional golf. But for this Cinderella, it ain’t midnight yet.

Until the next visit from The Booth…have a great Memorial weekend!

RW