GOLF: With 'zero to lose,' '23 hero Michael Block back in the mix at PGA

The PGA of America knows what a Block party can look like when one really gets going.

For now, it's nothing too raucous, just a few dozen fans who stayed late Thursday afternoon to watch the end of teaching professional Michael Block's first round of the PGA Championship. He two-putted for par to complete an even-par round of 70 at Aronimink Golf Club.

"You're in the hunt, Block!" one fan called out. "Way to go, buddy!"

Indeed, Block was only three shots off the pace on a mild first day of the season's second major championship. Three years removed from becoming a fan favorite at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, Block is taking it all in with some additional perspective he's gained along the way.

"I have zero to lose," Block said. "I'm about to be 50. I can see my wife and my kid up on the hill there right now, and my boss, they support me 100%. There's zero losing this week.

"They don't expect me to play well. They hope I play well, and they know I could play well, but I could get last place, and I'm still going to be loved and have a great job and everything else, and that's perfectly fine with me. That really gives you a lot of confidence, to be honest."

Block became a sensation in the golfing world when he not only made the cut at Oak Hill in 2023, but tied for 15th, with a hole-in-one on Sunday as a closing flourish. The head professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, Calif., Block was once again one of 20 players to qualify for the major via the PGA Professional Championship at Bandon Dunes in Oregon.

He spent Sunday through Wednesday playing nine holes a day at Aronimink, a course he'd previously never seen, with his son Ethan as his caddie for the week.

Block posted two birdies and a double bogey over the first four holes as he settled into a groove. A 16 1/2-footer for birdie fell at the par-5 16th to get him back into red figures, and he spent much of the rest of the day at 1 under before a late bogey at the difficult par-3 eighth.

His 70 was enough to beat his two playing partners, two-time major champ Dustin Johnson and Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard, each of whom shot 72. He outscored the likes of Rory McIlroy (74) and Bryson DeChambeau (76) by a wide margin.

"I'm like, I'm with D.J., one of my idols, a guy I looked up to my whole life, and Rasmus, who's an unbelievable player, he's like 63 in the world," Block said. "They both hit it 50 yards by me on every shot. I'm just going, ‘You got this, bud.'"

Asked what he's learned since 2023 that may help him this week, Block said it boiled down to confidence.

"I know I can do it," he said. "Very reminiscent of Oak Hill, to be honest. I just shot even par again, same thing I did at Oak Hill in 2023 in the first round."

He'll be the first player off the tee Friday at 6:45 a.m. sharp, so he expects a quiet morning -- both the wind and the hubbub around the course at that hour.

"I feel like I could get out there and, you know, shoot another even par or something like that and put myself in halfway contention going into the weekend," Block said.

Should fans see his name on the leaderboard once they arrive in greater numbers, you can expect another scene like three years prior, the passionate Northeastern sports fans cheering on the ultimate underdog.

"It's amazing the support I've always gotten obviously from New York and now here," Block said. "The cheers I was getting all day long from the fans here in Philly were amazing. I'm very lucky. I feel like a lot of people jump around with Blockie bandwagon. The Block party's good, and yeah, it's fun.

"I feel really lucky and very fortunate to be sitting here right now with you guys."

-Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media/Reuters