I charge £93 for golf lessons but stunned Rory McIlroy with remarkable PGA Championship moment and will now face him again
It will be hard to ever beat the week Michael Block had at the 2023 PGA Championship.
And memories will come flooding back for the club professional as he makes a return to the major, sharing the course with Rory McIlroy.
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Block has qualified for the PGA Championship again by finishing T3 in the PGA Professional Championship on Thursday.
His latest appearance in the event will come two years on from an incredible feat that saw him rise to instant fame.
He was, and still is, the Head Professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, and he had never made a cut at a major event throughout his career.
But at Oak Hill Country Club in 2023, he ended up challenging near the top.
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After making the cut, the now 48-year-old moved up the leaderboard on Saturday, thriving in poor conditions to find himself heading into the final round in T8.
And that meant that Block, who charges around £93 for lessons at his golf club in California, found himself paired with superstar McIlroy.
His reaction to that news became an iconic moment.
Block looked visibly stunned when finding out the news, as a reporter revealed who his partner was going to be during an interview.
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He chuckled and was completely left in shock, saying: "Are you serious? Wow. That should be fun. We're going to have a good time... Really? Oh boy."
The images and video of his reaction went viral on social media and Block’s name became the talk of the sport over the weekend.
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The Cinderella story then got even better on the Sunday of the 2023 PGA Championship, as Block teed off alongside McIlroy.
As they hit their first shots of the final round, crowds of fans surrounded the tee box, giving each player a monstrous ovation.
And it was actually Block who had the loudest cheers, with commentators labelling it ‘the biggest ovation of the Championship so far’.
He would end up finishing the event in T15, dropping down the leaderboard slightly, but he wouldn’t have cared one bit after doing the unthinkable.
As if his week couldn’t get any better, Block left the now Masters champion McIlroy in disbelief by pulling off a hole-in-one on the 15th hole at Oak Hill.
In a magical moment, he slam-dunked his ball straight into the hole, sending the crowd into pandemonium around the green.
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McIlroy celebrated too, laughing loudly and rushing up to hug Block, who was left frozen by what he had pulled off.
As he was being hugged by those around him, the club pro asked: “It didn’t go in, did it? No, no, no way. Rory, did it go in?”
Block then walked over to the hole to find his ball was in and he received a roaring standing ovation from every single fan surrounding the green.
Before grabbing his ball, he stood to recollect his emotions and then lifted it into the sky in what was an all-time golfing moment.
After finishing his final round, Block then found out that he made the equivalent of selling 1,920 of his golf lessons in prize money.
Speaking about that, he said: “You’re going to make me cry. It’s a lot of lessons. The money is going to be fun, it’s great to have for my family.
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“But I didn’t do this for the money. I never looked up what the money was or what I could make from first to last.
“I’m very happy. I’m going to go home as the happiest guy in the world. It’s been a very good weekend.”
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Block will hope to have another great weekend at the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on May 18, and he will play alongside McIlroy again.
He missed the cut in 2024 as he was unable to follow up his fairytale year, but maybe this time we could see him repeat his heroics.
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