Not everybody can get to the final stages of the PGA Championship, as one particularly bitter player is coming to terms with all the way in Charlotte as he turned on the fans at Quail Hollow
Rory McIlroy only just scraped through to the weekend’s play at the PGA Championship. But for 82 out of the 156 starters, their Major journey came to an abrupt end.
The cut was ultimately drawn at one over par, coinciding precisely with McIlroy’s score at the close of play. Giants of the game like previous champions Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, and Martin Kaymer all failed to make the grade. The tale was different yet inevitable for club professional Michael Block, whose tournament hopes were dashed well before he finished his Friday round.
A grim starting round of 87 on Thursday left the 48-year-old well behind the pack. Despite a commendable effort in clawing back with a 70 on Friday, his cumulative 15-over-par saw him languishing at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Interestingly enough, Block pointed to the bustling crowds rather than his shots as the source of his woes. An estimated 100,000 enthusiasts are reported to have passed through Quail Hollow’s gates across the opening two days, reports the Express.
The sheer volume of spectators proved to be too overwhelming for Block. When his exit was confirmed, he said: “Kind of the funny part is I wish there was a huge crowd on every hole because that’s when I hit my shots.
“When there’s no one around is when I hit my worst shots. That’s something that I need more in my life is a bigger crowd.
“I just need to play a little better, so it could happen. I could only imagine what would have happened if I had been playing really well this week.”
Block has only participated in nine major tournaments, making his debut at the US Open in 2007. Despite only making the cut once, he endeared himself to fans with his performance at the PGA Championship a couple of years ago.
At 46, he secured a tie for 15th place at Oak Hill Country Club, marking the best finish by a club professional in many years. He also delighted spectators during his final round when he scored the tournament’s sole hole-in-one while playing alongside McIlroy.
His commendable performance two years ago has earned him an invitation to the tournament for the past two years. The four-time Southern California PGA Championship winner also pocketed a whopping £217,000 in prize money, significantly more than his previous highest prize of £57,000.
Meanwhile, defending champion Xander Schauffele managed to fight back and climb back above the cutline with a strong display in the second round.
Last year’s Championship winner, who boasts the longest tour cut streak of 64 straight competitions of making the cut, got over the one-over cutline with a back-nine 34.
The same could not be said of huge stars such as Shane Lowry, Ludvig Aberg, Mickelson, Koepka, Dustin Johnson and many others. Painfully for many golf fans, Jordan Spieth, who needed a victory in Charlotte to become the second Grand Slam winner this year, also failed to make the cut, missing it by one shot.
