PGA Championship: Hovland, Block Shines, More Heading Towards Move Day

ROCHESTER, NY — Last year PGA . Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Michael block finally found out he belongs in the field.

Play a few holes behind a group of marquee including tiger forest, Rory McIlroy And Justin Thomas at the Southern Hills Country Club, Block scored 3 out of 73 in the second round with hundreds of fans watching.

“Every hole I play is ten points deep,” says Block. “I shot 73 with everyone there. Mine [general manager] even said, ‘That’s you’re not a professional club anymore.’ So that was a big moment for me. I’ve lived off of it ever since.”

Block, 46, remains a club pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, a daily toll course in Mission Viejo, California. But Block proved in the first two rounds of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club that he’s also a great player.

While some of the best players in the world, including To Kim, Young Cameron, Sungjae Im And Sam Burns, going home after missing a chance, Block will attempt to play the final two rounds this weekend. He was ranked 10th in even after hitting 70 in each round of the first two innings.

According to research by ESPN Stats & Information, Block is only the second professional club to break into the top 20 of the PGA Championship after 36 holes in the past 20 years.

“I’m super comfortable,” says Block. “Honestly, some of my friends in Orange County [California] To be Beau Hossler And Patrick Cantlay. Now I play a lot of golf with them [and] they have become my friends. I understand where in the world they rank. I understand my playstyle can’t keep up with them, but I’m pretty close and I can compete with them.”

On Friday, Block was close to taking at least part of the lead. He hit three of his first five holes and was also number 1, his 10th hole of the round, to move 3 points below, just 1 stroke behind the leader. But then he caught a bogey on the fourth hole and a very ill-timed turn on the par-3 fifth hole. He takes his tee shot and finishes with a double 5.

“I don’t know,” Block said. “I’ve had the same swing I’ve been doing all week. It’s a nice little 8 iron, front left peg. I like to hit a childish pull with my 8 iron. I’ve been playing well all week, and most of the time all of a sudden we’re all there, doing it, and we look up, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ The ball just went out, somehow hit a tree, almost killed someone, then went out and went deep into the box I was actually lucky enough to get a brace afterwards. .”

Block has had an impressive career in small circuits. He is the current US PGA Professional Player of the Year. He finished second at the 2023 PGA Pro Championship, earning him a spot at Oak Hill. He set a record at Arroyo Trabuco with 59 points in 2019. On April 17, he won the Stroke Play Classic at his home ground and took home $1,600. He had earned another $500 when he finished second at the Pro-Pro Scramble at the San Juan Hills Golf Club in California a week earlier.

Block says he rarely hits more than a bucket of balls a week. He spends most of his time teaching for $125 for a 45-minute session and $500 for a 9-hole lesson. Wherever Block finished on Sunday, he would earn a good day’s pay.

This is his fifth appearance in the PGA Championship. He also played in the 2007 and 2018 US Opens. He hasn’t passed any previous starts in the majors. He made it through 4 of 24 PGA Tour starts, earning about $38,038.

Block’s form has been good this year. In January, he hit 7 under 65 in the first round of American Express (he was there to win his third Southern California PGA regional championship). The following week, Block beat both of the traveling pros he had paired in the first two rounds of the Farmers’ Insurance Open (he won 74-73).

“I got that confidence from finishing in the rounds that I liked, why not?” Block said. “Why not come here and compete? Why not be here at Oak Hill, pass? Honestly, I’m not afraid of them anymore.”

The best record for a PGA club professional who has crossed the PGA Professional Championship is a tie in 11th place first. Lonnie Nielsen in 1986 and Tommy Aycock in 1974. Block could be the first to finish in the top 10 in 40 years.

“It sounds weird but I’m going to compete,” Block said. “I promise you that.”

Like on his TaylorMade golf balls: Why not?

Foreign taste

The Americans have won each of the last seven PGA Championships. The last non-American player to win it was Australian Jason’s Day in 2015. But the Oak Hill rankings after 36 holes have a distinct foreign flavor.

Canada Corey Conners and of Norway Viktor Hovlandwith Scottie Scheffler, is leading with a score of 5 under. England Callum Tarren tied in sixth place with under 2, and fellow Englishman Justin rose ranked in eighth place with a ratio of 1 below. of Austria Sepp Straka ranked in 10th place at an even level.

No player to represent England has won a PGA championship since Jim Barnes, who won the first two in 1916 and 1919.

“I think historically, I’ve usually won on harder golf courses, so I think it fits my profile in that regard,” Rose said. “Yes, this is right up there. It feels a bit like a mix of this week’s PGA-US Open. I think is looking forward to the test.”

How far is too far back?

In the stroke-playing era of the PGA Championship since 1958, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, 63 of the 65 champions ended up in the top 20 on the leaderboard after 36 holes. The exceptions are Collin Morikawawho won at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco in 2020 (25th place) and Padraig Harrington at Oakland Hills in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, in 2008 (26th).

Each of the winners of the six major championships playing at Oak Hill Country Club finished in the top three after the second round: Jason Dufner (first, 2013 PGA Championship), Shaun Michel (tied 1st, 2003 PGA Championship), Strange Curtis (first, 1989 US Open), Jack Nicklaus (joint runner-up, 1980 PGA Championship), Lee Trevino (second place at US Open 1968) and Cary Middlecoff (third place at US Open 1956).

That could be bad news for some of the top players in the world, including Adam Scott (30th tie, over 2), Hideki Matsuyama (35th tie, over 3), Max Homa (35th tie, over 3), Xander Schauffele (tied for 48, more than 4), Cameron Smith (tied for 48, more than 4), Jon Rahm (tied for 48, more than 4), Tony Finau (tied 59th, over 5) and Justin Thomas (59th tie, over 5).

Thomas, the defending champion, said: “It was a tough game again. “It was a war. Just got off to a bad start.”

go home

Most of the big-name players are at risk of missing out, including Thomas, Rahm and Jordan Spieth, recovery and moving on the road on Friday. There are a few notable exceptions, including Rickie Fowler (6 above), Billy Horschel (6 out), Matthew Fitzpatrick (6 out), Tom Kite (8 out of), Jason’s Day (8 out of), Young Cameron (9 out of), Sungjae Im (13 above) and Sam Burns (14 out).

LIV . Golf League Star Taylor Gooch completed more than 10 and also failed. He enters week ranked 63 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Gooch, a two-time LIV Golf League champion, needs a good week to break into the top 60 before Monday or June 6 to qualify for the US Open.

Gooch won a place in the Tour Championship ending the season in 2022, which should have been enough to send him to the US Open in the past. But the United States Golf Association changed the language of that exemption this year to include players who both qualified and qualified for the Tour Championship. Gooch was ineligible to compete after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan suspended him for playing in LIV Golf events without a release. He’s not getting points in the LIV Golf League tournaments, so he’ll miss the course for next month’s US Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

Oh Canada

It’s about a three-hour drive from Rochester to Toronto, so there were quite a few Canadian fans in the galleries this week. They’ve had plenty of reasons to cheer so far. Conners are not only bound to take the lead, but also Taylor Pendrith tied in eighth place with a score of 1 under and Adam Svensson ranked in 11th place at an even level. Adam Hadwin tied in 35th place with 3 more points.

According to statistics and information from ESPN, there are only 3 Canadian players in the top 10 of the PGA Championship: Graham DeLaet (joint 7th place in 2017), Mike Weir (three times) and Nick Welock (9th tie, 1936). Weir is the only Canadian man to win a major, at the 2003 Masters.

It’s been a great day for 🇨🇦 Corey Conners, he’s one of the Day ✌️ co-leaders for the PGA Championship. Let’s cheer for our friends 🇨🇦 while there are two days left to compete. pic.twitter.com/UqAxTAPhCf

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) May 19, 2023

“It’s been a pretty special week so far,” Conners said. “I think being very close to Canada so there are a lot of Canadian fans here. They’re cheering me on. That’s definitely great.

“Yeah, it’s quite interesting. Really close with both Taylor and Adam [Svensson]. It’s a pleasure to be part of a group of Canadian golfers right now. I think whether it’s myself or one of them or the others, someone is making a fuss every week. It’s fun to be a part of it.”