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Golf's newest sensation was floored by a text message he received from Michael Jordan

Tyler Lauletta   

Golf's newest sensation was floored by a text message he received from Michael Jordan
Sports2 min read
  • Michael Block's magical run at the PGA Championship turned him into an overnight sensation.
  • Block has since gotten invites to play in several more PGA Tour events coming up.

Michael Block's dream run of golf keeps on delivering.

Last week, Block became the sweetheart story of the PGA Championship, finishing as the low club pro amongst a field of some of the best golfers in the world. He capped off his run of play with a hole-in-one on Sunday and an up-and-down on the 18th hole that secured him a T15 finish and with it, an automatic invite to next year's PGA Championship.

He also took home a check worth more than $280,000 — not bad for a weekend's work.

But aside from the cash, Block has also enjoyed a newfound bit of celebrity, including a text message from basketball legend and golf enthusiast Michael Jordan.

"I'm a big Jordan guy my whole life. I was a little kid in Iowa saving 100 bucks for a pair of Jordans back in the day," Block told reporters ahead of this week's Charles Schwab Challenge, per ESPN. "Pretty darn cool, to say the least."

According to Block, Jordan's message was about "something in the way that what he saw is why he loves the game of golf so much."

Jordan wasn't alone in loving what he saw of Block's story. According to Sports Media Watch, viewership on Sunday peaked as Block was finishing out his 18th hole alongside Rory McIlroy.

Block was competing in the tournament as a club pro — his day job is working as head pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California. He's not your average weekend duffer, and has developed quite a reputation among some of the pro players that call California home.

Max Homa, who has won five PGA Tour events since the start of 2021, called Block a "legend in southern California," according to ESPN.

"It's always amazing to see someone who, if you go to the U.S. Amateur or the U.S. Mid-Am and you see those players how great they are, and they have a job," Homa told reporters. "I spend all my days here practicing golf. That's all I have to do, and he can still whoop me real good."

While Block has no plans of trying to become a full-timer on the PGA Tour, he will be present at a few more events this year, having already secured a sponsor's exemption to this week's Charles Schwab Challenge.

Beyond his future PGA Tour events, if he can keep up the texts with Jordan, Block could also potentially score himself an invite to Jordan's home course, The Grove XXIII.


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