
Block party on again as club pro qualifies for PGA Championship
MICHAEL Block, the Southern California golf pro who shot into the spotlight at the 2023 PGA Championship with a legendary effort including a slam-dunk ace, has qualified for the 2025 tournament from May 15 to 18 at Quail Hollow olf Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Block, 48, beat the odds again this week when he tied for third as 20 of 312 club pros qualified for the major through the PGA Professional Championship, a four-day event at the PGA Golf Club's Wanamaker Course in Port St Lucie, Florida.

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The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Golf-Five storylines to follow at this week's U.S. Open
OAKMONT, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -Five storylines to follow as the world's best players descend upon Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, this week for the June 12-15 U.S. Open. RED-HOT SCHEFFLER Scottie Scheffler has three wins in his last four starts on the PGA Tour, each by at least four strokes, and arrives at Oakmont as clear favourite to win the U.S. Open and pick up his fourth career major title and third leg of a career Grand Slam. World number one Scheffler, whose start to the season was delayed due to hand surgery following a freak kitchen accident last December, enters the year's third major in full stride and in complete control of a game that appears well suited for an event that is known as the toughest test in golf. Since the calendar turned to May, Scheffler has matched the PGA Tour 72-hole scoring record with a 31-under total at TPC Craig Ranch, won the PGA Championship by five strokes, finished fourth at Colonial and then won his U.S. Open tune-up event at Muirfield Village by four strokes. DECHAMBEAU DOUBLE? Bryson DeChambeau, who made a clutch par save on the final hole to win last year's U.S. Open after Rory McIlroy's collapse down the stretch, now aims to become the event's first repeat winner since Brooks Koepka in 2018. DeChambeau, a fan favourite and twice U.S. Open champion who is dominant off the tee and a regular force at golf's biggest events, will play his first major since finishing runner-up at last month's PGA Championship for a second consecutive year. Since joining LIV Golf in June 2022, the big-hitting DeChambeau has recorded seven top-10 finishes in 12 majors, including last year's U.S. Open triumph at Pinehurst. RORY REDO Rory McIlroy, who completed the career Grand Slam at this year's Masters, will look to recapture his major magic after a disappointing finish at last month's PGA Championship when he returns to an event where he has endured his fair share of heartbreak in recent years. The U.S. Open has been one of the better majors for McIlroy of late as the Northern Irishman is riding a string of six consecutive top-10 finishes, but that stretch includes heartbreaking runner-up showings in each of the last two years. McIlroy, who missed the cut in his U.S. Open tune-up event in Canada, will also need to be much more accurate off the tee this week than at the PGA Championship where he used a back-up driver after his regular one was ruled non-conforming earlier in the week, though there were no concerns of player intent. MICKELSON GRAND SLAM BID This is the final year of six-times major champion Phil Mickelson's five-year exemption into the U.S. Open for winning the 2021 PGA Championship and he will once again look to turn back the clock in what could be his last chance at winning the one trophy standing between him and the career Grand Slam. The 54-year-old, who has been U.S. Open runner-up a record six times, missed the cut in the last three years. It will be his fourth U.S. Open at Oakmont, having finished tied 47th there in 1994 before missing the cut in 2007 and 2016. Mickelson produced one of golf's most improbable wins when, aged 50, he won the 2021 PGA Championship to become the oldest major champion. DAUNTING OAKMONT Oakmont Country Club, regarded by many as the country's toughest course, is a quintessential U.S. Open venue. It is garnering plenty of attention ahead of the year's third major given its punishing rough, narrow fairways, lightning-fast greens and slew of bunkers that could all combine to keep the winning score above par. Hosting the U.S. Open for a record 10th time, the par-70 Oakmont course will be set up at 7,372 yards this week. The venue played as a par-70 over the last two U.S. Opens (2007 and 2016) and during that time only four players scored under par for the week. The field scoring average has been at least two strokes over par in every U.S. Open round at Oakmont, dating back to 1927. (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)


The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Golf-Scheffler, McIlroy look to tame Oakmont, DeChambeau seeks repeat U.S. Open win
FILE PHOTO: Jun 1, 2025; Dublin, Ohio, USA; Scottie Scheffler lines up a putt on the 18th green during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images/File Photo OAKMONT, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Scottie Scheffler, who has cemented himself as the preeminent force in golf, enters this week's U.S. Open seeking the third leg of a career Grand Slam while Rory McIlroy hopes to reclaim his major magic and Bryson DeChambeau eyes a repeat title. World number one Scheffler has three wins in his last four starts, including last month's PGA Championship, and is clear favorite at Oakmont Country Club where his driving proficiency, elite short game and patient approach could be the difference. Oakmont, arguably the toughest course in the United States, is a quintessential U.S. Open venue given its penalizing rough, narrow fairways and nerve-testing greens that many expect will ultimately result in a winning score above par. The physical and mental grind expected this week could open the door for three-times major champion Scheffler, who tends to be in contention wherever he tees it up given his unflappable temperament and exacting style that can wear down a field. "He's got no weaknesses in his game. You just feel like when you're behind Scottie, you have to press because you know he's not going to make any mistakes," NBC Sports/Golf Channel analyst Smylie Kaufman said on a U.S. Open media conference call. Northern Ireland's McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam of golf's four majors at the Masters in April but at the PGA Championship he finished well out of contention while using a back-up driver after his preferred one failed a conformity test. Now the world number two, fresh off a missed cut at the Canadian Open, will get another crack at an event where he has endured his fair share of heartbreak in recent years. At the 2024 U.S. Open, where the Northern Irishman was seeking his first major triumph in a decade, McIlroy bogeyed three of his final four holes and finished runner-up for a second consecutive year. BIG-HITTING DECHAMBEAU DeChambeau, looking to become the event's first repeat winner since Brooks Koepka in 2018, has become a regular force at golf's biggest events and with five top-six finishes across the last six majors he should be in the mix thisweek. The big-hitting DeChambeau, who thisyear briefly held the final-round leadat the Masters and finished runner-up at the PGA Championship, has become one of the game's biggest draws due partly to his eponymous YouTube channel. His willingness to embrace fans when he is in contention for the game's biggest prizes could him to a third major title as he defends his crown, having also won the U.S. Open in 2020. "He's learned that whipping up the crowd, becoming connected with the crowd only helps him -- not only helps him get cheered for, but I think it helps him with his own confidence level," said NBC Sports play-by-play commentator Dan Hicks. "He's become a lot more dangerous of a guy, especially at the biggest ones they play, the majors. And that's proven to be true." Among some of the other notables in the 156-player field at Oakmont are Spaniard Jon Rahm, British Open champion Xander Schauffele and Swede Ludvig Aberg. A stern test awaits at Oakmont -- which is hosting a U.S. Open for a record 10th time and first since 2016. Accuracy off the tee will be paramount given the penal rough lining Oakmont's narrow fairways that lead to greens that could be the fastest players compete on all year. "It's going to be an absolute physical, mental grind," said Kaufman. "I think you'll see the toughest players on Sunday that are in contention, it will be the guys that have been able to keep their wits about them, not have those blow-up holes completely derail their championship. "It sounds like it's going to be crazy, crazy hard." (Reporting by Frank Pingue; Editing by Ken Ferris)


New Straits Times
a day ago
- New Straits Times
No.1 Scheffler sizzling with three wins heading into US Open
OAKMONT, United States: Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler enters next week's US Open with three victories in four starts, including a third career major title, and will be the man to beat at Oakmont. The 28-year-old American won last month's PGA Championship at Quail Hollow after capturing Masters green jackets in 2022 and 2024 and has three top-seven finishes in his past four US Open starts. "Scottie is obviously the best there is right now," US rival Rickie Fowler said. "He's someone that obviously has proven he's in very much control of his game." Scheffler defended his title last week at the PGA Memorial tournament, his ninth win in a row when leading after 54 holes, and won the Byron Nelson last month by matching the lowest 72-hole stroke total in PGA Tour history. After winning nine times last year, including Paris Olympic gold, and bouncing back from a right hand injury that sidelined him for a month at the start of this season, Scheffler has found his most dominant form. He won by eight strokes at the Byron Nelson, five shots at the PGA for his largest major win margin and four at the Memorial. "Look at the record he has had the last few years. It's unbelievable," said 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus, the Memorial host. "He'll compete to what he has to do. He doesn't want to brag about what he does but he has the ability to bring his level to whatever level it needs to be. That's what good players do. And he's not a good player. He's a great player." American Ben Griffin, who has won twice in the past two months and finished second at Memorial, was a junior rival of Scheffler. "He definitely wasn't as dominant as he is now," Griffin said. "He has just really perfected his craft and really loves the grind and is always trying to get better, so that's what separates him so much from a lot of guys is he has just put in so many hours of being pretty much a robot." Such relentless form, Scheffler said, comes from being patient and smart when playing with the lead. "I try and bring the same level of intensity to Thursday as you do Sunday," Scheffler said. "So when you're coming out here late on Sunday, nothing really changes for me because I try to bring that intensity to the first tee on Thursday." Fellow shotmakers remain most impressed at just how well Scheffler can control his golf ball when it matters most. "The way that he can control his distances with different trajectories, different shapes, I think that's pretty impressive," Austrian Sepp Straka said of Scheffler. "With his iron shots, that's probably the most impressive thing. But it's a long list of things that makes him impressive. That's why he's as good as he is." Three-time major winner Jordan Spieth, says Scheffler's trademark consistency comes from what he can do with the face of his club. "His consistency is ridiculous," Spieth said. "And then that just leads to his distance control being phenomenal. It's elite consistency because his tempo and club face control yields these kind of results." — AFP