Logo

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Just when you think this week at the PGA Championship couldn’t get any more unbelievable for Michael Block, the 46-year-old club pro from Mission Viejo, Calif. jarred a hole-in-one on the 15th hole in Sunday’s final round.

Block, the only one of the 20 club pros in the 156-player field to make the cut, stood on the tee after his shot in utter disbelief when he realized the shot went into the hole in the fly.

“Did that go in?” Block asked his playing partner Rory McIlroy, who gave him a hug with a pat on the stomach. “No. No. No way. I just saw (the ball) go at it, but I had no idea. Are you kidding me?”

Block, whose mantra is the phrase “Why Not?’’, has had an are-you-kidding-me week since the moment the tournament began.

“I didn’t really see it, I knew it was at the pin,” Block said on CBS after his round. “I had no idea it went in. … Then Rory comes over and give me a hug. I’m like, ‘Why’s Rory giving me a hug?’

“I really walked down another 20-30 yards and I looked back and him and went, ‘Did that go in the hole?’ because everyone’s going crazy.”

He said he had never made a hole-in-one in a tournament before

To makes things better, his up-and-down for par on No. 18 clinched him a finish in the top 15 at 1-over and earned chance to play next year’s PGA Championship.

He entered Sunday’s final round having shot three consecutive even-par rounds to stand at even for the tournament and in ninth place.

No club pro has ever finished in the top 10 in the storied 105-year history of the PGA Championship.

A top-15 finish this week would qualify Block for next year’s PGA at Valhalla.

A top-four finish would qualify him for next year’s Masters.

A top-10 finish would get Block an invitation to next week’s Canadian Open, and a two-way tie for third or better would get him temporary playing status on the PGA Tour.

The ace moved Block from 2-over par to even par and in a tie for 14th at the time.


  Club pro Michael Block (r.) reacts after hitting a hole-in-one on the 15th hole in the final round at the PGA Championship on May 21, 2023. Getty Images Club pro Michael Block (r.) reacts after hitting a hole-in-one on the 15th hole in the final round at the PGA Championship on May 21, 2023. Getty Images

  Michael Block reacts after hitting a hole-in-one on the 15th hole in the final round at the PGA Championship on May 21, 2023. Getty Images Michael Block reacts after hitting a hole-in-one on the 15th hole in the final round at the PGA Championship on May 21, 2023. Getty Images

Block, whose largest paycheck for a golf tournament was $75,000, stood to make a six-figure prize-money check Sunday, pending his finish.

He already was as much the star of this PGA Championship as the top players in the world, vying for the title, including Brooks Koepka, Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland.

Then came the ace on No. 15, the 29th hole-in-one in a PGA since 1983.


  Michael Block (r.) hi-fives Rory McIlroy after hitting a hole-in-one on the 15th hole in the final round at the PGA Championship on May 21, 2023. Getty Images Michael Block (r.) hi-fives Rory McIlroy after hitting a hole-in-one on the 15th hole in the final round at the PGA Championship on May 21, 2023. Getty Images

  Michael Block celebrates after his hole-in-one on the 15th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship. AP Michael Block celebrates after his hole-in-one on the 15th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship. AP

Scheffler was getting ready to hit his second shot on the 14th hole when Block’s ace occurred, igniting — by far — the loudest roars this tournament has produced all week.

When a walking TV reporter told Scheffler what had taken place, Scheffler smiled and said, “This is crazy.”

When he arrived to the green and plucked the ball out of the hole, Block showed it to the fans surrounding the green, who were in an absolute frenzy.

Block’s shot damaged the lip of cup on 15 that needed to be repaired and his caddie, John Johnson, a full-time looper at Pebble Beach, said to him, “Way to cause a delay.’’

Block responded, “I’ll cause that delay any time.”

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy