I mentioned in a comment this morning on the blog that I had tuned briefly into the PGA Championship’s coverage yesterday, but switched off after 15 minutes because of club pro Michael Block’s ace being replayed over and over… and over… and over…
I mean, it was great for him, but I wanted to see some actual golf, imagine that.
Funny thing, though – I thought I recognized that name, “I could have swear he was in that qualifier back in 2016,” and today, I checked on my hunch.
Sure enough, I remembered him from the Farmers Insurance qualifying event back in January 2016, when I had flown out to California to work with a club pro myself – you’ll remember Jerry “BT” Crowell, those of you who were around a few years ago.
Well, you’ll remember as well that I caddied for him in that qualifying event and Crowell & Block tied for 4th, missing out by just 3 strokes to winner Brian Smock:
This is how J.C.’s swing looked at the time, an MCS Classic Golf Swing model that we worked on for days before the event:
Congrats to Michael Block on that PGA Championship run, and thanks for bringing back the good memories from that Cali trip – perhaps I should have enjoyed your ace more than I did at the time it occurred!
Update: I might be able to catch Michael in action later this season, as I’ve just learned he has received a sponsor’s invite to the 2023 Canadian Open being contested at Oakdale G&CC in Toronto, which is a 30 minute drive from my residence:
WAX Golf 
What is BT up to these days? That 2016 swing of his was…POWERFUL +!! Impressive rhythm and be could mash it a mile… I thought the Block story was perfect for TH ratings – Everyman takes on the super pros and hangs in there beating a swath of the brand names…I was also positively surprised at the genuine delight some top world players took in Mr. Block’s feat. The robotic marketing image was gone, at least for a moment. And the pro from So.Cal.? What a payday! $309K goes to the 15th-place finisher. Have to think that’s a tad more than the annual haul doing everything a club pro must do – That was a fun day of major golf…
I have to agree with you in retrospect, Peter – I became annoyed with the replays & switched off before I realized who it was making the ace.
The everyman club pro – good stuff indeed. I should have stuck with it!
BT – we lasted worked together in ‘16 and I believe he retired from tournament play the following season or next. Incredibly, he was 51 that time of the qualifier.