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[STIRRING MUSIC]

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It was this time last May that
Michael Block captured the golf

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world.

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I'll tell you what, Jim, he
showed up here at Oak Hill,

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not many knew who he was.

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But he's leaving here
as the crowd favorite.

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The 46-year-old public course
club pro with a friendly

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demeanor and self-deprecating
humor contending at Oak Hill

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during the 2023 PGA Championship
while winning over the crowds

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in Rochester and those
watching from home.

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This wonder
crescendoed on Sunday

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when Block, paired
with Rory McIlroy,

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made a slam dunk hole in
one late on the back 9,

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a shot that left Block
seemingly in disbelief

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as the gallery chanted his name.

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Roy, did it go in?

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It sure did.

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Dunker!

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He made an up and down for par
at the final hole to finish tied

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for 15th, earning an invite
into the following year's PGA.

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I'm living a dream.

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I'm making sure that
I enjoy this moment.

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I've learned that after
my 46 years of life

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that it's not going to
get better than this.

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There's no way.

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The Block Party was one of the
feel good stories of the year.

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Then the damnedest thing
happened, the party

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continued much, much longer
than anyone, including Block,

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could expect.

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[UPBEAT MUSIC]

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Block made two starts on the PGA
Tour in the ensuing three weeks,

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with one of his
rounds at Colonial

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receiving featured
group coverage.

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After failing to
qualify for the US Open,

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he was on the grounds of
Los Angeles Country Club

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anyway, promoting
Dewar's scotch whisky.

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There were countless
other promotional events.

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He was invited to Tiger
Woods's Charity Invitational

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and he became a fixture
on the celebrity circuit.

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I've literally spent about
a year now living a dream.

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I feel like I just
woke up from a dream.

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I'm like, no, I was
just on FaceTime

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with Mark Wahlberg sitting
next to DJ Kelly having

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lunch in his backyard.

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One of the things that
actually Khaled told me was,

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this is your year, Blockie
and don't say no to anything.

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Oh, it might go in.

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It's going in.

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[CHEERING]

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[LAUGHTER]

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[CHEERS]

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Let's go golfing.

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Let's go!

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Let's go!

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This overexposure spurred
a Block backlash of sorts.

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Not helping was his performance.

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He finished dead last the week
after Oak Hill at the Charles

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Schwab Challenge and didn't do
much better at the RBC Canadian

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Open.

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In fact, of the eight PGA Tour
starts Block made the past two

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seasons, Oak Hill was the only
one where he made the cut.

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Without the game to
back his story up,

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Block went from a scene
stealer to a sideshow.

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It's worth remembering how
uncharted this territory was

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for Block.

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He didn't become a PGA
member until 35 years old.

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The expanse between who he was
to what he had become was wide.

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And he had to make that
tightrope walk where

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every misstep was now noted.

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Block gets that next
week the year of Blockie

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will likely conclude
at Valhalla.

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What happened last spring hasn't
bestowed fantastical aspirations

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of winning the Wanamaker.

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Block simply wants
to make the cut.

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And considering he owns a share
of the Valhalla course record,

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he likes his chances.

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[STIRRING MUSIC]

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