With his son on the bag, Michael Block opens PGA Championship with even-par 70

Two weeks ago, Michael Block told Golfweek he would "get his ass handed to him" if he played at Aronimink Golf Club — that the course was too long and the lack of rollout would do him in. Well, that was not the case in Thursday's opening round of the 2026 PGA Championship. Block shot even-par 70 and sat in a tie for 32nd when he walked off the course, well ahead of some of the game's biggest stars — like Rory McIlroy (4 over) and Bryson DeChambeau (6 over) — and both his first-round playing partners, Dustin Johnson and Rasmus Hojgaard, who each shot 72.

LIVE UPDATES: PGA Championship leaderboard, highlights, live updates Block — a 49-year-old PGA of America Professional who works as the head pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California — "dissected" Aronimink, sprinkling four birdies throughout his scorecard to offset a pair of bogeys and one double-bogey. How did he do it? "Paired with D.

J. and Rasmus, two absolute bombers, the big thing at the beginning of the day was — and I told Ethan, my son, who's [my caddie] — I said, 'Do not try to hang with them. We're just going to play our own game,'" Block said.

And that he did. Block ranked 145th out of 156 in average driving distance but still managed to put together the best round from any of the 20 club pros in the field. He hit 11-of-14 fairways and finished the day in the top 20 in Strokes Gained: Putting.