Michael Block Disqualified From PGA Seniors Championship After Leaving Final Round With Wrist Injury

Michael Block Disqualified From PGA Seniors Championship After Leaving Final Round With Wrist Injury

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ABERDEEN, Scotland — Michael Block was disqualified from the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship on Sunday after leaving the course during his final round without completing what tournament officials said was the required withdrawal procedure.

The 50-year-old American, playing on a sponsor exemption, walked off after 12 holes of his final round at Trump International Golf Links. The Legends Tour said Block left without completing the necessary process to notify tour officials of an injury or illness.

“During the final round of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, Michael Block left the course before completing his round and without completing the necessary process of advising Tour officials of any injury or illness,” a Legends Tour spokesperson told Golf Channel.

“As a result, the official listing has been recorded as ‘disqualified’ rather than ‘retired.’”

Block disputed some of the circumstances surrounding his withdrawal. Speaking to Golf Digest by text message, he said a left-wrist injury was the reason he stopped playing and insisted that he had informed people at the course that he was withdrawing.

Block said he thanked his playing partners, their caddies, spectators and the walking scorer before handing over his scorecard. He also said he asked the scorekeeper to call an official for transportation from the course.

According to Block, a person wearing a European Tour jacket arrived shortly afterward and he told that person he was withdrawing. Block said he later went to the championship office but found nobody there.

He believed he had completed the withdrawal correctly, only to learn that he had been disqualified because, according to his account, the person who gave him a ride was not an official.

Block strongly rejected reports that he simply walked off because he was unhappy with the course.

“To hear these accusations that I just walked off the course and that I was upset about the course conditions is absurd,” Block said.

The controversy also included a separate two-stroke penalty. The Legends Tour confirmed that Block was penalized two shots for arriving late to his final-round tee time. Block said he was only “a couple seconds late” because he had been taking photographs with volunteers.

Before his disqualification, Block had struggled throughout the tournament. He entered the final round after shooting 11 over par across his opening 54 holes. He made the cut at 5 over after rounds that included a hole-in-one on the par-3 seventh on Thursday and a 78 on Saturday.

The withdrawal ended his tournament officially as a disqualification rather than a retirement, despite Block maintaining that a wrist injury forced him to stop playing.

Block is scheduled to compete next at the Boeing Classic, a PGA Tour Champions event in Snoqualmie, Washington.

Analysis: Michael Block’s DQ Shows How Important Withdrawal Procedures Are in Professional Golf

Michael Block’s disqualification from the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship has become one of the more unusual golf stories of the week, largely because the controversy appears to center not on whether he was entitled to stop playing, but on how he communicated his withdrawal.

Block says a left-wrist injury forced him to leave the tournament during Sunday’s final round. According to his account, he told his playing partners he was withdrawing, handed over his scorecard and asked the scorekeeper to arrange transportation. He also said he informed a person wearing a European Tour jacket that he was withdrawing once he reached the clubhouse. 

The Legends Tour, however, took a different position. Officials said Block left before completing his round and failed to complete the “necessary process” of advising tournament officials about an injury or illness. Consequently, the tournament record listed him as disqualified rather than retired. 

That distinction is crucial. In professional golf, a player cannot simply stop playing and assume that explaining the situation to people around the course automatically constitutes an official withdrawal. The tournament needs to know why a player has stopped and must record the appropriate status under its regulations. In Block’s case, the tour concluded that the required procedure had not been completed.

Block’s frustration is understandable. He strongly rejected suggestions that he abandoned the tournament because he disliked the course conditions. He called those accusations “absurd” and maintained that his wrist was the reason he decided not to continue. 

There was also a separate issue that made Block’s Sunday even more difficult. He received a two-stroke penalty for arriving late to his tee time. Block acknowledged that he was late and said he had been taking photographs with volunteers. The Legends Tour later said he had mistakenly believed his tee time was later than the actual scheduled time. 

The timing of everything is important. Block had already struggled throughout the tournament, entering the final round at 11 over par after rounds of 76, 73 and 78. He then shot 43 on the front nine Sunday before ultimately leaving after 12 holes. 

Still, the incident should not overshadow Block’s broader golf story. His popularity exploded after his memorable performance at the 2023 PGA Championship, where he recorded a hole-in-one and finished inside the top 15. Now competing as a 50-year-old on senior tours, Block remains one of golf’s most recognizable club-professional figures.

Ultimately, the biggest lesson from this controversy is simple: communication must reach the correct tournament official. Block may have genuinely intended to withdraw because of an injury, but the Legends Tour determined that he did not complete the formal process required to classify his departure as a retirement.

For Block, the episode is an unfortunate reminder that in professional golf, even an honest misunderstanding can have an official consequence.

Sources

[Golf Channel / Yahoo Sports — Michael Block DQ'd from Legends event]