Block Party!

May 22, 2023  /  0 Comments
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PGA Championship Block Party (Photo from Google Images).

If you missed the PGA Championship on Sunday then you missed a Block Party!

The 105th PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY gave us some brutal, wet weather, but when the rain stopped the Block party began. Brooks Koepka won his third Wanamaker Trophy and his 5th Major win. The 2023 PGA Championship purse continues to increase every year and totaled $17.5 million. (The Players Championship remains the richest purse in PGA golf at a total of $25 million.)

Koepka

With Koepka taking home $3,150,000, Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland (tied for 2nd) each took home $1,540,000. Kazuki Higa finished in 76th (last place) and he’s getting a $25,000 paycheck. Twenty-five thousand dollars to finish in last place in the final round is not a bad check for four days of playing golf.

Koepka’s 2-shot victory over Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler was the first major championship win by a LIV Golf League player. Other members of the Saudi Arabian-financed league say it proves that they belong in the major championships. (And they do!) LIV Golf had four other players finish in the top 20: Bryson DeChambeau tied for fourth at 3 under, Cameron Smith tied for ninth at 1 under and Patrick Reed and Mito Pereira tied for 18th at 2 over.

Hovland

Hovland, the 26-year-old from Norway was in contention to become the first major championship winner ever from his home country. Hovland was on my team in the St.Clair family bet so that means my mom and my twin root for everyone except my dad’s team. Hovland was one shot behind Koepka with three holes to play. Koepka 9-under and Hovland 8-under, but a bad break from a 9-iron from a fairway bunker on the 16th hole ended in a double bogey as Koepka birdied. Dad had Koepka and he basically acted like HE just won the $3M purse.

Block Party

But the real story of the weekend was watching adult dreams come true. Michael Block is the head pro at his home club, Arroyo Trabuco, in Mission Viejo, California. The 46-year-old charges $150 an hour for a lesson, but after this weekend his price just went up. Only 20 club pros were invited to play in the PGA Championship, Block was the only one who made the cut.

Playing with Rory McIlroy on Sunday and with Jim Nantz on the call, Block aced on the 15th hole. The crowd went nuts over the hole-in-one; as they should! (This was Block’s first ever hole-in-one in a tournament.)

The last time Block made a cut was July 2015 at the Barbasol Championship. This is the first ace by a club pro in PGA tournament since 1996. The best 36 and 54 hole position by a club pro since 1988 and the best finish by a club pro at PGA tournament since 1986.

In his post-round interview Block said “I’m living a dream…to the 29,000 PGA professionals, this ones for you.” It’s safe to say, his life will never be the same and never give up on your dreams.

The Block party will continue! With a par save on the final putt, Block ended Sunday with a top 15 finish and he qualifies for the 2024 PGA Championship. He will also be playing this weekend in the Charles Schwab Challenge and has been invited to play in RBC Canadian Open.

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