Michael Block Makes Quadruple Bogey Early in Round 1 at PGA Championship

The PGA professional who was the darling of the 2023 PGA got off to a rough start Thursday.

Michael Block got off to a rough start at the the 2024 PGA Championship. / Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The “Block Party” got off to a rough start Thursday in the first round of the PGA Championship.

Michael Block, the PGA professional from California who stole the show in the 2023 PGA with a T15 finish and a Sunday hole in one, opened bogey-quadruple bogey to start at Valhalla.

Block hit the first tee shot of the tournament off the first hole—a nod to what he did last year in bringing so much positive publicity to the PGA of America and its professionals—and missed the fairway left. He had to pitch out to the fairway and bogeyed the opening par-4.

Then on the 2nd hole, disaster struck. He was short of the green in two on the par-4 then sent his third over the green into thick rough. His fourth came back over the green again into a bunker and his blast out of there went long. His sixth shot settled safely on the green 11 feet from the hole, but he failed to convert the putt for triple bogey and walked off with an 8.

Here’s how it looked on the PGA’s Shot Tracker:

Michael Block's shot tracker at the par-4 2nd hole in Rd. 1 of the 2024 PGA Championship. / PGA Championship

Block's finish last year at Oak Hill was nearly as big of a story as Brooks Koepka's win. The 46-year-old was in the top-10 for a while on the weekend, rarefied air for a PGA club professional in the major. He aced a par-3 Sunday while playing with Rory McIlroy and got up-and-down on the 18th hole to secure an invitation to this year's PGA.

He was so popular that the PGA Tour gave him exemptions into two tournaments after the PGA, and got a number of endorsements and was featured prominently in PGA of America advertising.

Two holes after the quad Block rebounded with a birdie on the par-4 4th hole, stuffing his approach to 4 feet, but then bogeyed the par-4 6th hole and stood at 5 over.