Block was born on June 15, 1976, in
Reno, Nevada, growing up first in
Davenport, Iowa, and then the
St. Louis area of
Missouri. before graduating from
Parkway Central High School in
Chesterfield, Missouri, in 1994. He competed in the 2007 PGA Tour
Q-School, but did not pass the second stage. Prior to the 2023 PGA Championship, Block played in 25
PGA Tour events, making the cut in four of them, while winning the Southern California PGA Player of the Year award nine out of ten years from 2012 to 2022. Although he had qualified for four PGA Championships (2014, 2016, 2018, and 2022) and two
U.S. Opens (2007 and 2018), he had never made the cut, with a lowest 36-hole score of eight over par. four
Southern California PGA Championships (2017, 2018, 2022, 2023), and the 2014
PGA Professional National Championship. He also played in the 2015 and 2022
PGA Cups for the USA team, winning the latter. He received wider attention after making the cut at the
2023 PGA Championship, the only club professional to do so. After shooting par in the first round of the tournament, Block recorded birdies at three of his first five holes on his second round to move into joint-second place, before dropping three shots in two holes and finishing the day at even par. Another even-par 70 on the third round, for which he was paired with
Justin Rose, saw Block move into a tie for eighth place after 54 holes. In his final round, playing alongside
Rory McIlroy, Block scored a
hole in one at the 15th hole on his way to a +1 final score; this score tied him for 15th place, earned him $288,000 in prize money (his previous top check was $75,000 for winning the 2014 PGA Professional Championship), and won him an automatic invitation to the
2024 PGA Championship. where he finished last. Block did not qualify for the
U.S. Open in 2023 after failing to make the by two strokes at the
RBC Canadian Open, for which he was offered an exemption. He also attempted to qualify for the
2023 Open Championship through
final qualifying, but was not successful. Block nevertheless secured a place in another PGA Tour event when he qualified for
The American Express, by winning his Southern California section championship in late September, and was later invited to play at the 2023
Australian Open, where he made the cut and finished tied for 27th. ==Amateur wins==