Michael Block: Why I don’t play on the PGA Tour

Michael Block has opened up on why he’s simply not cut out for the PGA Tour, claiming his “A+ game” would still only be good enough to finish inside the top 15.

Block became one of the golfing stories of the year when his fairytale run in the PGA Championship propelled him to overnight stardom.

The club professional from Southern California stole the show at Oak Hill, sharing the headlines with winner Brooks Koepka after finishing T15 and hitting a hole-in-one in his final round alongside Rory McIlroy.

His heroics in Rochester led to invites at the Charles Schwab Challenge and Canadian Open on the PGA Tour – but the 47-year-old missed the cut in both events.

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And Block, who continues to ride the wave of his dream week in May, knows he doesn’t have what it takes to compete with the game’s best on a consistent basis in the big leagues.

“I rolled the rock better than I have did in my life,” Block told the First Cut podcast, reflecting on the PGA Championship. “I hit short game shots I never hit in my life, I hit my irons great, I hit driver down the fairway, and I struggled to finish 15th.

Michael Block explaining why he’s not on the PGA TOUR. @FirstCutPod

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— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) October 26, 2023

“That’s how good these guys on the tour are. That’s 14 guys still beat me, and I brought my A+ game all around. So, that’s why I’m not on the PGA Tour.

“I don’t want to be that guy, I don’t want to have my A+ game and still finish 15th. If I have my A+ game against club professionals, I’m going to win.”

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Block is clearly, and understandably, more comfortable dominating club tournaments, whilst still dabbling on the PGA Tour.

He won his California section championship by four strokes at Sherwood Country Club last month to secure his return to the circuit at The American Express in January.

And the Block Party will also head down under this winter after he accepted an invite to play in November’s Australian Open in Sydney.

“I am so excited to come down under and play the Australian Open,” Block said.

“It has been a truly unbelievable year for me, both on and off the course, and what better way to finish 2024 than to head to Australia, play some golf and see the sights of Sydney.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.