PGA professional Michael Block aced the 15th hole on Sunday night for a Hollywood ending to his fairytale US PGA.
Playing with Rory McIlroy in the final round, the 46-year-old saw his tee shot fly straight into the cup at the 151-yard 15th hole to cause the biggest roar of the week in Rochester. Block was not immediately aware he had made the hole-in-one until told by McIlroy.
“No way, no way,” he said. “Did that go in? I saw it go straight at it but I had no idea after that. Wow.” Needing a par at the 72nd hole to finish in top 15 to return next year, Block carved his approach to the final green into the crowd but chipped up and drained the par putt for a closing 71 to finish on one-over par. He was embraced by McIlroy amid huge applause for the People’s Champion.
He finished tied 15th - the same as Tyrrell Hatton who finished with a 67. Block, who has the phrase “Why Not?” stamped on his ball, charges $125 for a 45-minute lesson at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California but he will be back next year after making the cut for the first time in his seventh attempt at a Major.
Block, who broke down in tears in his post-round interview, said: “I had never made a hole-in-one in my life and to do it here at the 15th in the US PGA in front of all of these great fans in Rochester, it was probably the most surreal moment in my life.
"Rory was awesome. It is amazing. I am enjoying this moment. I have learned this after 46 years of life. It is not going to get any better than this."
Brooks Koepka won the tournament after going round in 67 in the final round to finish on nine-under-par and claim victory by two shots. He successfully held off the challenge of Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland.
The LIV Golf star's performance follows his joint runner-up finish at the Masters as he becomes the first player to join the breakaway Saudi-backed league to win a major.
McIlroy finished on two-under-par at Oak Hill but admitted he never felt he had a chance of winning going into the tournament after crumbling at the Masters. “Like the previous Major championship at Augusta, all I think about is winning, winning, winning, to try to win that Green Jacket, and I then don't really think about just playing a tournament and the cadence that goes along with getting into rounds and whatever," he said.
“I go to the second tee on Friday, and I see I'm already ten back of Brooks or whatever. So then I'm thinking: “Oh, geez, I have no chance of winning’, and things sort of crumble. It's just like being a bit mentally fragile because you're so focused on the one thing you're trying to do when, in essence, you just need to play a golf tournament and see where the chips fall at the end of the week.
"I guess I just came in here trying to play a golf tournament, not thinking about getting myself in contention. Not thinking about winning. I honestly didn't feel like I had a chance of winning this week. So it was just about going out there and playing the best I could and trying to make the most of it.”
