Michael Block punctuates storybook PGA Championship with slam-dunk hole-in-one (Video)
Michael Block became one of the stories of the PGA Championship but he made it truly unforgettable with a slam-dunk hole-in-one in the final round.
Throughout the week at the 2023 PGA Championship, you would’ve never known that PGA Club Professional Michael Block, the lone club pro to make the cut at Oak Hill Country Club this week, was on the first page of the leaderboard through the first three rounds. He was soaking everything in with the joy of a kid, and it was a joy for golf fans to watch too.
His reaction to finding out he was paired with Rory McIlroy for the final round of the PGA Championship felt like a perfect ending to the storybook run that saw him at T8 through the first 54 holes. As it turns out, it was just the start to that final chapter as he had a thing or two to show Rory.
On the 15th hole in the final round, Block had pieced together a fine 2-over round and was still inside the Top 20. That’s when he hit a beauty of an iron on the 151-yard Par 3, but he didn’t hit the green — instead, he found nothing but the bottom of the cup as the fans at Oak Hill went berserk, with McIlroy even joining in.
Michael Block aces 15th hole with slam dunk in iconic PGA Championship run
Sure, Michael Block had no chance of catching Brooks Koepka and Viktor Hovland at the top of the leaderboard — no one was truly expecting that. But his reaction to that slam-dunk hole-in-one encapsulated why he’s become one of the biggest stories of the PGA Championship.
He dunked an ace in front of one of the greatest golfers of this generation and he didn’t jump up and down or celebrate in an over-the-top way. He looked on in complete disbelief that this was his life right now.
Even better, Block’s ace could prove huge for his future too. With a Top 15 finish at the 2023 PGA Championship, he earns a spot in next year’s PGA Championship at Valhalla as well. That hole-in-one moved him from T17 to T14.
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