Michael Block continued his love affair with PGA Championship venues as he shot a nine-under-par 63 to tie the course record at Valhalla.
The American PGA professional, who shocked the golfing world when he finished T15 at the 2023 PGA Championship, was visiting the venue which is set to host the 2024 edition of the tournament.
The course record was set by the legendary Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal in 2000 but Block equalled that with a bogey-free round which featured seven birdies and one eagle.
"Feeling ready. Now I wish today was an actual round…#imagineifihaddistance," Block said on social media after the round, joking about his controversial comments where he compared his game to Rory McIlroy's.
The 47-year-old automatically qualified for a spot in the 2024 field with his top-15 finish at Oak Hill. Having shot three consecutive rounds of 70, he holed a miraculous up and down on the 72nd hole to remain at T15 having made a slam dunk hole-in-one playing alongside Rory McIlroy earlier in the final round.
Clearly, his preparations for next year's tournament are going well. After opening with two birdies in his first four holes, Block - playing off the 7,675-yard tournament tees - then made eagle on the 600-yard par-five seventh.
Birdies at nine and ten were followed by three more coming in, including at 17 and 18 as he registered his record-equalling found of 63.
The Jack Nicklaus course is located in Louisville, Kentucky and has hosted the PGA Championship on three prior occasions - 1996, 2000, and 2014. It also hosted the 2008 Ryder Cup.
