Michael Block’s epic reaction to Rory McIlroy pairing at PGA Championship is priceless

Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images

As if Michael Block’s PGA Championship week couldn’t get any better, now he will get to play with Rory McIlroy in the final round.

As if Michael Block couldn’t get more relatable, his reaction to discovering he would play with Rory McIlroy during the final round of the PGA Championship was absolutely priceless. He couldn’t believe it and kept asking if the reporters were joking with him or if it was real life.

It is real life; his reaction is how anyone with a pulse would react to playing with McIlroy for the first time. The Northern Irishman has that kind of effect on people.

Block was is one of 20 PGA Club Professionals in the field this week. He became the just the second to enter the weekend inside the top 20 at a major. Now he finds himself in contention entering Sunday.

He has become the people’s golfer this week, and the more the world learns about him, the more they like him. He is so down to earth and personable — while he says that the instruction list is only for people he likes to hang out with, it may change after this week.

Block shot his third straight level par round to sit T8 heading into Sunday. He played with Justin Rose on Saturday and was clearly in his element. After every hole, he would fist-bump fans and enjoy the whole experience. CBS Sports had him mic’d up during the round. Block discussed how he looked up to Rose most of his career, so that whole experience had to be memorable.

He said Rose was supportive and great to play with, but he had to keep his head down during the first few holes to stay focused. Block is a regular Joe who has a lot of game to compete with the world’s best.

Now he will tee it up with McIlroy, and staying within himself on championship Sunday may be challenging. However, if the first three days tell us, anything is that Block will enjoy every moment of it and get a rather large check.