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STEELE SPORTS

Block out the noise
By
Johnnie Phillips, Sports Editor
Johnnie Phillips, editor, sports, Steele County Times

One of the best parts about sports is every once in a while we are gifted with a truly special underdog story.

This past weekend the sporting world was introduced to professional golfer Michael Block, a club pro Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California.

Block competed at the PGA Championship in Rochester, New York this past weekend and faced a tremendous uphill climb just to place 15th in a field of 156 players.

While Block’s result may not scream “wow” by any means to casual fans, what makes his run special and inspiring is the circumstances that led to his arrival on golf’s biggest stage.

Block has been a pro for quite some time and is actually no stranger to PGA tour golf.

The pro has competed in the PGA championship four separate times, but had never made the cut… that is until this last weekend.

After three rounds of shooting even par to begin the tournament, Block actually found himself in 10th place heading into championship Sunday and was paired with longtime stud Rory McIlroy.

With presumably nothing to lose and everything to gain, Block found himself taking over the hearts of fans by just being himself.

He was quoted on TV saying that his normal day job of being a club pro involves charging $125-150 per hour.

When he dunked a hole-in-one on the 15th hole of the final round, he said afterward that his wife joked that the price of lessons may have to increase.

What made Block’s run special wasn’t just that he had one of the best amateur rounds the PGA Championship has ever seen, but the fact that fans at home were able to watch a talented, humble individual live his dream in real-time.

What we can all take away from Block’s story is that life is too short to give up on our dreams.

When faced with the same challenges that he had faced four times previously, Block never gave up on himself.

Now having secured himself a top-15 finish, he has secured himself an automatic bud to return to the PGA Championship next year.

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