ENDICOTT, N.Y. – He wasn’t charging up the leaderboard, but he was the talk of the course.
“Hey, did you catch Blockie at all today?” one fan asked a friend as they passed on the trail.
“Yeah, saw him birdie 9,” the second friend replied. “Gonna chase him around the back.”
Michael Block won the hearts of Upstate New York golf fans with his performance at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, outside of Rochester. Playing his first Champions Tour event in Endicott, Block’s fans, a lot built from his social media presence, were out in full force supporting him at the Dick’s Open on Saturday.
“People that have actually been around me and know me and we get to hang out and we all get to go play golf together and have fun, I think it’s hard to hate on me,” Block said. “The New York fans have done nothing but been very supportive of me, which I really apprecite it. For Sunday, I’m going to throw out something tonight [on social media], we’re going to go big tomorrow. I want the biggest crowd tomorow out of any one. We’re going to go deep. I need that in my life and we’re going to win this tomorrow.”
Block sits tied for 13th at 8-under par.
“Yesterday was pretty special, shooting 6-under my first time out, today, not to complain or whine, but I shot 2-under and it didn’t really go as planned where I hit it,” he said. “Going 8-under going into Sunday, I’m in a good spot and I feel I can go deep here, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Michael Block a fan sensation in Champions Tour debut at Dick’s Open
Reporting by Anthony Maluso, Special to the Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Anthony Maluso, Special to the Press & Sun Bulletin | USA TODAY Network
