After his impressive performance at the PGA Championship last week, club pro Michael Block had a difficult start at the Charles Schwab Challenge, finishing with 11-over par.
Block became a hero at the major tournament last week when he tied for 15th place, hitting a hole-in-one on Sunday and getting a text message from NBA legend Michael Jordan.
But on Thursday, he faced a harsh reality check as he dropped three shots on the first three holes at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, and ended up at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Block, who usually teaches golf lessons at a public course in California, was emotional about going back to his family after this week’s event.
“I’m going to see my boys tomorrow night,” he told reporters. “I’m looking forward to coming out tomorrow, playing a great round, giving it everything I have.”
Block teed off with Min Woo Lee and Pierceson Coody at the Charles Schwab and had four bogeys in the first five holes, including a wedge that flew over the green on the first hole and a mishit bunker shot on the second.
He briefly recovered with a birdie on the ninth to make the turn at two-over and made par on the 10th after slicing his tee shot onto the bridge.
However, three bogeys and three double bogeys on the last eight holes meant Block closed on 81, four shots behind the rest of the field.
“If you are a golfer, you’ve had the day I had and you understand the facts of where the lies aren’t good and trees are in your way every time, and even your good shots are bad, your bad shots are worse,” Block said.
“You know what, it is what it is. I’m going to live with it. I thought it was going to happen that third or fourth round last week at Oak Hill [during the PGA Championship] and it never happened, so it happened now.
“I wasn’t surprised by it, to tell you the truth, because the experience I had last week was next level.”
When he reflects on his amazing couple of weeks, Block can start to make sense of what he achieved at the PGA Championship last week: a spot in next year’s tournament and $288,333 in prize money, his biggest payday on the golf course by more than $200,000.
At the top of the standings, England’s Harry Hall leads the Charles Schwab on eight-under, three shots clear of American Harris English.
