Michael Block celebrates Fourth of July, shaves 'USA' into head at U.S. Senior Open

What’s on your Mount Rushmore of American nostalgia? Apple pie, watermelon, hot dogs and fireworks, perhaps? It’s up for interpretation, but with the United States celebrating its 250th birthday this weekend, it’s a good time for Americans to take stock of their cultural touchstones.

The occasion isn’t lost on Michael Block, the newly minted 50-year-old who has established himself as a central part of 2020s American golf culture for not only finishing top-15 at the 2023 PGA Championship as a club pro but also wearing his emotions on his sleeve throughout (think: ‘Rory, did that go in? No!) and thereby bringing his country along for his magic-carpet ride.

Block turned 50 this spring, made his PGA TOUR Champions debut at last week’s DICK’S Open (finishing T8 despite a closing triple bogey) and qualified for this week’s U.S. Senior Open Championship at Scioto Country Club.

It’s a special week for Block at his first PGA TOUR Champions major, adding to his two prior appearances at the "regular" U.S. Open. Now he’s commemorating it in Block fashion: shaving "USA" into the back of his head Wednesday afternoon, just before holding court with the media for a spirited press conference at Scioto.

For Block, everything conspired to make the haircut an obvious choice. The United States men’s soccer team is in the middle of its World Cup run. He’s making his U.S. Senior Open debut on Thursday morning. And the Californian – longtime club pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club – is amped to celebrate his country’s birthday.

It was, as Block said, meant to be.

“Monty the Barber, who is here on-site this week for all the players, in 2018 he was the barber at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock, and I'd had my haircut by him at that U.S. Open as well,” Block said on Wednesday. “I just saw yesterday he had posted something, because we follow each other on Instagram, and he posted something and he was here.

“I said, ‘You've got to be kidding me. Could my son and I come in at noon tomorrow before I go in for an interview?’ He's like, ‘Let's go.’ I was walking down 18 fairway here, and I was like, ‘Dude, I've got to get USA shaved in my head somehow. We've got the World Cup at 8:00 p.m. Saturday is July 4. I'm playing the U.S. [Senior] Open. This is all meant to be.’

“Now I've got a USA shaved on my head. Should be there for about a week.”

Could a U.S. Senior Open trophy celebration be part of that week? Block will give it his best shot. He showed at last week’s DICK’S Open that he’s fully capable of hanging with the world’s best 50-and-over players, charging up the leaderboard in the final round in upstate New York and moving within one stroke of the lead on the final nine before his untimely triple bogey. He was as engaging as ever throughout the week – bantering with fans, waving to cameras and projecting a jovial spirit.

Other than the final hole, Block gained plenty of momentum from his PGA TOUR Champions debut, and he plans to roll it into the U.S. Senior Open – and with "USA" inscribed on the back of his head.

“I made it abundantly clear in an interview about a week ago that I did have a dream about this exact event. It was almost a year ago. I woke up one day. I had a vivid dream that I had won the U.S. Senior Open,” Block said.

And sometimes a dream becomes reality.