Cult hero? Villain? Michael Block just wants to be himself ahead of 10th major start

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.