PGA Tour star who was forced to clarify Rory McIlroy comments considers career switch

PGA Championship crowd-pleaser Michael Block is considering a move to the senior golf circuit and securing a place on the PGA Tour Champions.

Block made a name for himself during last year's US PGA Championship, where he - as a club professional - impressively tied for 15th at Oak Hill Country Club. His claim to fame was further cemented with a spectacular slam-dunk ace at the par-three 15th during his final round playing alongside four-time major champion Rory McIlroy.

Since that breakout moment, Block has been a regular contender in numerous PGA Tour events, including a return to the PGA Championship this May. Now at 48, the American is setting his sights on senior golf.

In an interview with Bunkered, Block confessed that competing with the younger generation is becoming increasingly challenging. "I'd consider the Champions Tour in about a year-and-a-half," he said. "The kids now are so good and the scores they're shooting out there are unbelievable.

"These young kids are unreal, and I want nothing to do with them. I'm more than happy to play the occasional events and the majors, I love what I do, but I have my eyes set on the Champions Tour. At age 49 I can start to qualify and then the day I turn 50 I can play.

"My wife pretty much has an ultimatum that I have to do it. Eventually, I see myself retiring at 55 because I'd love to give the Champions Tour a go for five years."

Despite his burst to fame at last year's PGA Championship, Block certainly turned heads with his take on fellow star McIlroy.

Following his great display last May, Block was perceived to have suggested he could reach the top echelons of golf if he possessed McIlroy's formidable driving distance. Speaking to the Ripper Magoo Podcast, he mused: "He's a lot longer than I am, that's what it is. What I would shoot from where Rory hits it would be stupid, I think I'd be one of the best players in the world, hands down."

Yet, he clarified his statement in a chat with Golf Monthly, saying: "It was totally misconstrued, misconceived, the whole thing. I really feel like if you're a real golfer, you kind of understood what I had meant.

 "If I gained 60 yards, if I had a gap wedge into every green rather than a four iron into every green, would I be better? I'd be a whole hell of a lot better. Would I be better than Roy McIlroy? Absolutely not. Rory is an absolute stud and at no point, in any shape or form, was I ever trying to say anything about Rory or the tour professionals.

"I was just one hundred per cent saying, if I had an extra 60 yards off of every tee, every day of my life, would I be on tour? Probably. Guaranteed? Absolutely not... It was taken completely out of context but is also my fault, I guess. I said it the wrong way. I did a couple of thousand interviews [after the tournament] but I guess I did say one thing wrong but it's okay."