Koepka, Block put on show at Oak Hill
It seems poetic, given golf’s divide, that the PGA Championship yielded equally compelling stories about two men who couldn’t be farther apart on the game’s food chain.
In the winner’s circle on Sunday was Brooks Koepka, the alpha dog who not long ago was seen whimpering his way through an episode of Netflix’s “Full Swing” but is now back to barking as loud as he ever did. A rich man — deservedly, with his four major victories between 2017 and 2019 — made much richer by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV Golf, to which Koepka fled amid flailing form caused by a fragile knee.
A healthy Koepka played brilliantly at Oak Hill, a brutish course that suits his beefy game. He did the same through 54 holes at the Masters in April, but fizzled on Sunday to let Jon Rahm race by him. This time, he kept his foot on the gas and his victory never looked in peril, even when a game Viktor Hovland pulled even with him on the back nine.
It was vintage Koepka, a ruthless competitor who is feared, not loved, unless you count the bevy of brahs there to high-five him as he strutted toward the scoring area.
In contrast to Koepka was Michael Block, the working man who captured countless hearts with his wonderful week. The 46-year-old club pro finished in a remarkable tie for 15th at the PGA Championship, punctuated by a Sunday hole-in-one down the stretch while playing with Rory McIlroy.
“No way,” he said repeatedly of his ace.
Block spends much of his time teaching lessons for $125 (U.S.) at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, Calif., and was in the field at Oak Hill as the runner-up at this year’s PGA Professional Championship. Every year the top-20 finishers at that event get to play in the major that their association conducts, but rarely does one make a mark. Block did just that, earning $288,333 and a spot in next year’s PGA Championship in Kentucky.
It wasn’t just Block’s hole-in-one heroics that endeared him to fans in Rochester and those watching on TV around the world. It was his humility. Interviewed repeatedly, he spoke lovingly of his golf-playing sons, his club, his members, his students and his PGA brethren. He talked with the aw-shucks tone of a man aware that his fame will last the proverbial 15 minutes.
If Koepka was the tournament’s champion, Block was that of the people.
Which is not to discredit the now five-time major winner. Of all the big-name LIV golfers, Koepka and his one-time best chum Dustin Johnson are the two who’ve pulled no punches as to why they play there. They went for the money, plain and simple, and neither has mumbled any malarkey about trying to grow the game. Had Phil Mickelson done the unthinkable and won at Augusta in April, you can bet he would have used his press conference to espouse all that’s awesome about LIV. When asked about that league, Koepka basically shrugged the question off.
“I definitely think it helps LIV, but I’m more interested in my own self right now, to be honest with you,” Koepka said.
It remains unfortunate that he and other stars have largely disappeared from the public eye, but Koepka, in particular, only ever cared about the majors anyway. He said so repeatedly when he played on the PGA Tour, so in that sense nothing is different between then and now.
Which is another contrast that emerged between Koepka and Block at Oak Hill. For the former, it was about returning to a life once lived. And for the latter, it was about a week in the spotlight that he’ll remember forever.
Bits and Bites
Block will play this week’s Charles Schwab Championship at Colonial Country Club on a sponsor’s exemption, and he’s accepted an invite to play in the RBC Canadian Open in two weeks’ time. Block is playing a 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier in California on the Monday of Canadian Open week, and that’s a long haul to Toronto on the Tuesday. Let’s see what kind of energy he has by then … The New York fans were largely great at Oak Hill, but chanting “U.S.A., U.S.A.” after Canadian Corey Conners missed a putt was pathetic … Major Sunday pressure is something. Conners looked as comfortable as can be Saturday playing with superstar Scottie Scheffler, whom he beat by three strokes. The next day he was all out of sorts on his way to a 75 … Kazuki Higa birdied four of his first five holes Thursday at the PGA Championship to surge to the very early lead. He then made only three birdies over his next 68 holes and finished dead last among those who made the cut. Golf is so crazy … Was it just me or was hardly anything said of Jason Dufner’s 2013 PGA win at Oak Hill? Lots of attention paid to Shaun Micheel, who won there in 2003, but very little on Dufner, who was a sensational player a decade ago … Another reason the RBC Canadian Open’s date is a tough one with the new designated event series: the two Dallas-area events bookend the PGA Championship. Those are must plays for Texans such as Scheffler and Jordan Spieth, which means six of seven weeks for them with the PGA, Memorial, U.S. Open and Travelers, another designated event. They are two stars who can’t fit in Canada as a result, though Scheffler did last year when the Travelers wasn’t elevated.