This week’s PGA Championship at Bellerive is a homecoming for club professional Michael Block.
And, if it weren’t for the California-based pro’s quick-thinking 13-year-old son Dylan, this homecoming never would have come to fruition.
Two months ago, Block was playing in the PGA Professional Championship in Monterey at Bayonet Black Horse. The top-20 finishers earn a spot in the PGA Championship.
Block, who won the PPC in 2014, had Dylan serving as his caddie in Monterey. It was the first time ever that Block had Dylan loop for him… competition or otherwise.
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Block came into the PPC exhausted. He had qualified for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. After missing the cut there, he traveled cross-country to California for the PPC on the Saturday. The tournament teed off on Sunday.
Understandably, Block was running on fumes.
He looked to be headed for an understandable missed cut following what looked to be a lost tee-ball on the par-5 14th hole in the second round at Bayonet.
The ball went into some trees and, just as Michael was headed back to re-tee, Dylan noticed a small, burrowing animal hole at the base of a tree. He laid flat on his stomach, reached into the hole and grabbed a golf ball – his dad’s golf ball.
Here’s how it all played out:
Michael proceeded to birdie the hole. He made the cut. In Round 3, he fired a tournament-best 66 and then won a playoff for one of the final spots in the field at Bellerive in St. Louis, where he grew up.
Kenny Harms, a TCN Caddie Correspondent for the Caddie Network this week, tracked Dylan down at Bellerive to get the story of what happened at the PPC firsthand. Here’s what Dylan, who’s just spectating this week, had to say:
Block shot a 5-over 75 in Round 1 on Thursday.