A Golfer Dreams at 50

Hello, world.

Endicott, New York, is the latest witness to the greatest show in golf: the Block Party. Competing on a sponsor invite, Michael Block made his highly anticipated PGA Tour Champions debut at the DICK’s Open this weekend, and neither his scorecard nor his theatrics disappointed.

On Saturday afternoon, the PGA club pro sensation out of Arroyo Trabuco holed a lengthy par putt from off the green, chucked his putter, folded his hands, and bowed to the tens of fans surrounding the 17th green.

“Why wasn’t that a two-stroke penalty?” Joaquin Niemann’s caddie must have wondered from afar.

The Block Party may have started on Saturday evening, but the roars only increased on Sunday when Blockie charged out of the gates, birdieing five of his first eight holes. He then failed to capitalize on the scorable par-5 12th, but naturally, that didn’t stop him from gesturing to the crowd after clipping a saucy flop shot to tap-in range.

Birdies at Nos. 14, 15, and 16 — each punctuated by unrivaled showmanship (seriously, click those links) — pulled him within one shot of the lead. But on the 18th hole, the Block Party came to a screeching halt.

From the middle of the fairway, Block hit his approach shot a hair to the right. It struck a tree overhanging the green before finding a plugged lie in the greenside bunker.

“Hit a 52-degree wedge directly at the pin, and it hit the tree, which I guess that pin honestly wasn't in the right spot, to be honest,” Block relayed afterward. “Then it plugs in the bunker and then all hell breaks loose, I make a triple bogey.”

It was the type of blow-up you’d expect from most bright-eyed, bushy-tailed young 50-year-old rookies making their Champions Tour debut, though not one you’re conditioned to expect from Block, especially with a short iron in his hands.

Fortunately, the triple on the last didn’t cost him a top-10 finish. Block tied for ninth, which, if my understanding of Champions Tour eligibility is correct, secures him a spot in the next Champions Tour non-major. First, though, comes the U.S. Senior Open this upcoming weekend. Block emerged from a three-for-two playoff two weeks ago to punch his ticket via Final Qualifying.

The field should be on notice at Scioto Country Club, given both Block’s current form and, apparently, a dream he had last year.

“I'm just letting you guys know this dream,” Block revealed after Friday’s round. “I'm going to say it out loud for the first time. My family's known this for a while. It happened about a year ago…

“And hate me for it, I don't care, but I literally had a dream that I was going to win the U.S. Open, the U.S. Senior Open, the first year I turned 50. That's something I've had in my head for a long time.”

The field of 155 seniors isn’t just playing against one of the finest wedge players of his generation in Columbus. Evidently, they are competing against destiny. If I were the USGA, I’d set up Scioto to play as short as possible, let the rough grow wild, enjoy the Block Party, and watch a dream come true.

As of this weekend, there is a wolf in the henhouse on the senior circuit.

And his name is Michael Block.