Michael Block set for PGA Tour return after big victory  

The Block Party isn’t over just yet.

Michael Block, the Californian teaching pro who lived out every golfer’s dream earlier this year, will be back out on the PGA Tour in 2024.

Block has earned his berth at The American Express in January after winning the 2023 Southern California Professional Championship at Sherwood Country Club.

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The 47-year-old trailed by one heading into the final round of the three-day tournament in Thousand Oaks, but fired a six-under 66 on Wednesday to claim victory by four strokes.

It’s the fourth time Block, who plays at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, has won his section championship.

As well as his return to a PGA Tour field, Block’s victory also earned him a tidy $17,000 winner’s cheque.

“I rolled in a couple of putts down that final stretch, and the tide turned pretty quickly,” he said. “I was lucky enough to come away with the trophy, and I’m grateful for all the support and camaraderie we have here in the Section.”

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This triumph marks the latest of memorable events in a year that just keeps on giving for Block.

It was at the PGA Championship back in May when the American became the story that even transcended golf.

While Brooks Koepka claimed his fifth major title at Oak Hill, Block was the man in the media spotlight with his tied 15th finish, which earned him $288,333 in prize money and a host of unforeseen opportunities.

His emergence warmed hearts at Oak Hill and his slam-dunk hole-in-one on the 15th while paired with Rory McIlroy on the final day was the stuff of folklore.

Block’s T15 finish at Oak Hill means he is exempt for the PGA Championship at Valhalla next year, but before that, he will focus on giving a better account of himself on the PGA Tour.

He missed cuts at The American Express at the Farmers Insurance Open last year before his major heroics, and again failed to make the weekend at the Charles Schwab Challenge and the Canadian Open on sponsor’s invites thereafter.

But after his epic victory back home in California, the Block Party rolls on into 2024.