PGA Pro Michael Block’s Dream Year Continues At Tiger Woods’ TW Invitational

Michael Block's incredible 2023 shows no signs of fizzling out after he was photographed with Tiger Woods at the 15-time Major winner's TW Invitational. 

The club pro, who outperformed many household names to finish T15 at the PGA Championship, is now back in the limelight at the private tournament hosted by Woods, which is being played at the world-famous Monterey Peninsula, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach.

Block seems to be making his most of his time at the event, too, and has posted a photo on his Instagram account showing him stood between Woods and World No.8 Max Homa.

Block had already accomplished more in the space of six months than many PGA pros would dream of in a lifetime. Not only did the 47-year-old perform so well in the second Major of the year at Oak Hill, he also partnered four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy during the final round, where he made a slam dunk hole-in-one on the par-3 15th before going on to earn almost $300,000 for his efforts!

That performance not only secured qualification for next year’s tournament, but it also secured him invitations to the Charles Schwab Challenge and RBC Canadian Open. Not done there, thanks to winning September's PGA of Southern California’s section championship, he also booked his place at The American Express in January.

Not bad for a player who, despite playing in a number of high-profile events over the years, counted his work as a club professional in southern California as his day job.

There have been a few hiccups along the way for Block since the unforgettable effort back in May that got his year moving. First, he ruffled some feathers suggesting he'd be "one of the best players in the world" with Rory McIlroy's driving ability, comments he later described as “totally misconstrued.” Then, back on the course, he didn’t quite do enough to qualify for either the US Open or The Open.

Nevertheless, despite those minor setbacks, it is hard to imagine another rise to prominence quite like the one Block has enjoyed this year – and being invited along to a prestigious private tournament hosted by arguably the greatest player of all time surely epitomises that as well as anything.

As for Woods, there are signs from the Monterey Peninsula that he is closing in on a return to competitive action. Earlier in the week she was seen hitting full shots for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery in April.