You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
It’s widely considered the most legendary line in Christopher Nolan’s 2008 Batman sequel, The Dark Night, actually written by Nolan’s brother Jonathan and spoken by actor Aaron Eckhart, who plays Gotham politician Harvey Dent, to Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne.
“Build them up, tear them down; it’s the way we treat people,” Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter two years ago.
Sadly, Michael Block knows this all too well.
Block, affectionately (hopefully?) known as Blockie, was the darling of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, a club pro from Mission Viejo, California, who not only put on a show with his electric play – highlighted by a slam-dunk, Sunday ace alongside Rory McIlroy – but engaged himself to the masses with his affable, everyman personality. Everyone quickly wanted a piece of Blockie – fans, media types, sponsors. And much to everyone’s delight, Blockie obliged. Next thing we knew, Blockie was guesting on dozens of podcasts, scoring PGA Tour exemptions, brushing elbows with celebrities and even working a promotional shift at fast-food chain, Raising Cane’s.
With each appearance, Blockie-mania seemed to lose its luster, until eventually – like in Finding Nemo, where an excitable girl name Darla can’t help but shake the water bags containing her pet fish, to the point where they go, um, belly-up – Blockie, at least as a universally beloved figure, was flushed down the drain. The inflection point, perhaps, was this quote to podcaster Bob Menery: “What I would shoot from where Rory hits it would be stupid, I think I’d be one of the best players in the world, hands down. If I had that stupid length, all day, my iron game, wedge game, around the greens and my putting is world class.”
Block was among the players with a pre-championship presser at the 2024 PGA. A year later, he wasn’t requested for a single on-camera interview, which are transcribed and loaded onto ASAP Sports.
Block’s unabashed authenticity and desire to accommodate gained him status as a cult hero – until, of course, it didn’t. Speaking to golf writer Alan Shipnuck ahead of this week’s PGA at Aronimink, Block’s 10th career major start, Block opened up on the good, bad and ugly of fame.
“Oh, very aware,” Block told Shipnuck when asked about himself being a controversial figure in the sport. “And I get it – I was sick of Blockie, too. I didn’t want to hear my voice. I didn’t want to see that hole-in-one ever again. I mean, it got so shoved down everybody’s throat. For a couple months after the 2023 PGA, or really almost a year after, there was way too much of me out there, and I understand that people got tired of it. Like, I don’t blame people. If I’m sick of myself, I can only imagine how other people felt.
“And I didn’t help by saying a couple of stupid things. But I was just a club pro who had never been in the limelight before, and suddenly the whole world was coming at me and I tried to handle it the best I could. But haters are gonna hate. It is what it is. I’m just a normal guy. I love my dog and my wife and my kids and the simple things in life. I try to treat people well. That’s all I can do.”
Still, Block admits that the backlash – and in many cases, hate – took a toll. In the months after Oak Hill, he’d pour through every comment on social posts from and about him, and “I’d literally be depressed,” he shared. “It hurt. I was a 47-year-old guy, and suddenly it felt like a lot of people hated me for no real reason and that sucked. But I try not to worry about that stuff anymore.”
NEWTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA - MAY 12: Michael Block of the United States, Corebridge Financial Team of PGA of America, takes a photo with fans during a practice round prior to the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 12, 2026 in Newtown, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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After rallying a few weeks ago at Bandon Dunes to qualify via the PGA Professional Championship, Block arrives at Aronimink armed with the goal of being unapologetically himself, a credit, he says, to his wife, Val. He’s prepared to sign every autograph, connect with every high-five and as Tuesday’s practice round suggests, roll an imaginary bowling ball while walking off a tee box – regardless of what is said about him. He turns 50 years old next month, meaning he’ll soon turn his focus to senior golf, some majors and a half-dozen or so PGA Tour Champions events. But first, he will try to rekindle some of that magic from three years ago.
Block’s only goals for the week: Make the cut, stand alongside the champion on the 18th green Sunday as low club pro, and have fun.
“That’s it,” Block said. “If I finish 30th versus 60th, it’s not going to change my life one way or the other, which is a really nice thing. I’ve got tons of family and friends coming with me. I’ve got my son Ethan on the bag once again. So, I can’t lose.
“It’s going to be nothing but positives.”
He can do those things because he’s not a hero; he’s just Blockie.