Rob Oller's Second Thoughts: Michael Block steals PGA Championship; Michigan is a mess
The latest too-good-to-be-true sports story turned out to be both exceptionally good and absolutely true when a golfing Everyman put a lump in the throat of hardened hackers who prefer their beer wet and eyes dry.
Michael Block is the club pro at a California public golf course who stole the show over the weekend at the PGA Championship in Rochester, New York. Block, 46, built himself into a legend by first making the cut at Oak Hill Country Club, then making a hole-in-one Sunday while playing with Rory McIlroy, and finally by draining a par putt on the 72nd hole that tied him for 15th and qualified him for next year’s PGA Championship in Kentucky. He also was extended an invitation into this week’s PGA Tour event in Fort Worth, Texas.
This kind of feel-good stuff happens only in books, movies and sports. And not all sports. The beauty of golf is that something like this can happen, that a working-class dude can dial it up against the best in the world. That just doesn’t happen in the NFL, NBA or NHL. Hartley football coach Brad Burchfield was a fine Division III football player but will tell you he had no shot at playing on Sundays. Ray Corbett recently retired as Grandview’s boys basketball coach. He never appeared in the NBA Finals.
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But here was Block, living a dream that felt more like a fantasy to those of us watching at home. Here was a relatively run-of-the-mill golf swing instructor whose favorite word is “cool.” The relatability is why a golf buddy sent a group text after Block finished Sunday’s round, “Anybody else have tears in their eyes watching the club pro finish with two pars to qualify for next year’s PGA and then see him cry through that post-round interview? Such a touching story.”
But it was more than that. On a day when PGA Tour defector Brooks Koepke gave LIV Golf a boost by becoming LIV’s first player to win a major championship, the biggest story was a teaching pro who does not belong to either LIV or PGA Tour. Love that. More? Block quashed the cynicism, outrage and pettiness that dominates society, especially on the internet. Everyone is happy for him. Imagine that.
Soap opera in Ann Arbor
The hits just keep coming for Michigan football, with the latest gut punch landing close to Columbus. Upper Arlington resident Glenn “Shemy” Schembechler, son of legendary Wolverines coach Bo Schembechler, resigned from his UM assistant recruiting position Saturday after three days on the job following the fallout from racist social media “likes.”
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Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel and coach Jim Harbaugh released a statement Saturday that said, in part: “We are aware of some comments and likes on social media that have caused concern and pain for individuals in our community.”
Schembechler's Twitter timeline reportedly included “likes” of insensitive posts, including several suggesting slavery and Jim Crow had the positive effect of strengthening Black individuals and families.
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It’s a bad look for UM. The school reportedly did a background check on Schembechler, but failed to successfully vet his social media accounts?
It’s been a rough offseason for the Wolverines, who in January received an NCAA notice of allegations against Harbaugh for allegedly misleading the NCAA enforcement staff who were investigating possible violations during a recruiting dead period.
The Miami Heat's Pat Riley, the NBA’s real GOAT
Credit to basketball writer David Aldridge for researching this one. Miami Heat president Pat Riley is one win from his 19th appearance in an NBA Finals as a player, coach or executive, meaning he has either played in, coached or been his team’s top decision-maker in 24.7% of all Finals in NBA history.
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Listening in
“But if you are a middling middle linebacker at Not Quite the Ohio State U and need to buy toothpaste or a burger and don’t have the funds, the NCAA still says, ‘Too bad. Ask Mom and Dad. Meanwhile, some of your classmates are working in the bookstore or at the dining service for beer money.” – Bill Saporito in The Washington Post.
Off-topic
Well, driving in England was quite the experience. First, thanks to everyone who offered suggestions on how best to handle driving on the “wrong” side of the road. I survived, although the first five minutes were dicey. Nearly took the passenger side mirror off and hit the left curb five or six times. But no major miscues after that.
The hardest part is not adjusting to “thinking left,” but navigating the narrow back roads. And almost everything is a narrow back road. My advice: rent a car only for those hard-to-reach locations and take public transit for everything else.
Two other observations from across the pond: why no washcloths (they call them flannels)? And the Old Course at St. Andrews was spectacular. Did not play it, but set foot on the Swilcan Bridge.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Oller: Brooks Koepka upstaged by man of the people at PGA Championship
