Michael Block was the name of everyone's lips at the 2023 PGA Championship after the Californian club pro enjoyed a dream week at Oak Hill Country Club.
The head golf professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club finished T15 courtesy of a final-round Ace alongside Rory McIlroy in a tournament that will live long in the memory for Block (and winner, Brooks Koepka).
However, Block's sixth appearance at a PGA Championship began in nightmare fashion on Thursday after two unsavoury scores to kick things off.
Following a pulled drive on the first, the 47-year-old went on to make bogey at the par 4 hole. He then followed that up with a simply disastrous second hole on another par 4.
Up by the green in two, Block had short-sided himself with bunkers in between ball and pin. That partially led to a thinned strike into the rough over the back. Chipping downhill, Block's fifth shot ended up occurring from the front greenside bunker he had just travelled over.
But he once again caught the ball poorly and sent it just off the fringe into the rough at the back. The next chip (sixth shot) remained on the green before a missed putt led to a tap-in eight.
Five-over after two holes put him comfortably in last place of the active players, but Block responded brilliantly with a birdie at the fourth, either side of two pars.
Meanwhile, playing partner Luke Donald - Team Europe's Ryder Cup captain - led the way early on after two birdies. He almost snatched a third on the par-3 third, too, but his putt rolled agonisingly wide of its target.
However, he bogeyed the fifth to leave America's Doug Ghim - who teed off on the 10th - up at the top as the only player on two-under.
Just as Block and Donald finished the fourth, Tiger Woods and McIlroy were beginning their respective rounds - the 15-time Major champion one group in front of his four-time Major-winning peer.
