PGA Championship star in the mix after restroom | Golf News

Michael Block delivered a motivational speech in a restroom at Aronimink Golf Club on Thursday afternoon, and the strategy proved efficient enough to place the 49-year-old membership skilled from Southern California just three strokes behind the leaders following the opening spherical of the PGA Championship.

Block, the head skilled at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Southern California who gained cult hero standing in golf following his spectacular efficiency at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, carded an even-par 70 in his opening spherical at Aronimink.

The pivotal second occurred around the twelfth or thirteenth gap, when Block entered the restroom and paused to reset mentally. Despite the absence of a mirror, he addressed himself instantly.

“I was in the bathroom on hole 12 or 13 today, and there was no mirror, so I wasn’t looking at myself. But I said, ‘You got this.’ I go, ‘You’re actually pretty good, buddy.'”

The motivational speak, he clarified, stemmed from a real second of self-evaluation concerning the caliber of opponents he was matched with. “I just kept going,” he said. “I’m like, I’m with DJ, one of my idols, a guy I looked up to my whole life, and Rasmus, who’s an unbelievable player, he’s like 63 in the world. They both hit it 50 yards by me on every shot. I’m just going, ‘You got this, bud. You got it.'”

Block’s means to overtly acknowledge the gulf between himself and the elite gamers in his group, while concurrently believing he may compete alongside them, is exactly what has made him such a compelling determine in skilled golf.

He is a membership professional, not a PGA Tour skilled, and carries none of the burden of expectation that shadows the sport’s largest names heading into major championships. That freedom, he says, is genuinely liberating.

“I have zero to lose. I’m about to be 50. I can see my wife and my kid up on the hill there right now, and my boss, they support me 100%. There’s zero losing this week.” he said.

“They don’t expect me to play well. They hope I play well, and they know I could play well, but I could get last place, and I’m still going to be loved and have a great job and everything else, and that’s perfectly fine with me. That really gives you a lot of confidence, to be honest.”

His even-par spherical positioned him forward of high-profile names including Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau.

Block, Johnson and Hojgaard are set to tee it up together again Friday as they give the impression of being to make the cut into the weekend. Whatever unfolds, the lavatory pep speak has already served its function.