Dylan Block closed with 63 when he needed to get through Pre-Qualifying.
At the next stop, he went one lower.
Block’s 10-under 62 Wednesday at Soboba Springs moved him into the halfway lead at his PGA TOUR Q-School First Stage site. The Mission Viejo amateur followed an opening 69 to reach 13-under, one ahead of Mateo Fuenmayor.
Two rounds remained. The top 17 and ties would advance.
For a player whose power has long attracted attention, these are the numbers that could start changing his career. AmateurGolf.com’s Q-School tracker
Block has been clear about what he wants. In a 2024 interview with MANORS, he described ambitions of reaching the PGA TOUR with exceptional speed, an aggressive approach and a game built to entertain.
But his most revealing answer concerned what stood between him and that future.
“The hardest thing about the journey to becoming a PGA Tour player is minimizing mistakes,” he said. MANORS interview
That answer carries some weight this week.
Going low has put Block in position. What happens after the low round will determine whether he moves on.
He has been here before—with a lead to protect
Earlier this year, at the Rancho Santa Margarita Amateur, Block opened with a 4-under 68 at Tijeras Creek and built a three-shot advantage.
He followed it with 75.
Cory Chavez passed him to win by two, while Block finished tied for second. It was a strong finish with an uncomfortable lesson attached: the player who produces the most exciting round does not always leave with the trophy. Our Rancho Santa Margarita Amateur coverage
There is no need to turn one result into a diagnosis of his game. It does, however, make the next two rounds at Soboba more interesting.
Block knows what it feels like to put himself in front. He also knows how quickly that position can change.
At La Quinta in September, he delivered the finish. Rounds of 68 and 71 were followed by a closing 63, earning medalist honors at 14-under in Q-School Pre-Qualifying.
That performance earned him this opportunity. Wednesday’s 62 put him in position to earn another. Our Q-School results and tracker
The pursuit predates this leaderboard
AmateurGolf.com covered Block’s Q-School attempt in New Mexico in 2025. Two years earlier, he reached U.S. Open final qualifying at Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles, where he failed to advance.
He has been entering the events, posting the scores and finding out where his game stands for years. Soboba is the latest test in that pursuit. Our 2025 feature, 2023 U.S. Open qualifying report
His father remains an important part of that development. Dylan has credited playing against Michael Block and his friends with helping him improve. Golf fans know what Michael did at Oak Hill in 2023: the ace alongside Rory McIlroy, the closing par save, the tie for 15th. For Dylan, that relationship reaches much further back than a famous Sunday—it includes the everyday competition that helped build his game. MANORS interview, PGA Championship retrospective
This week, though, Dylan’s own scorecard supplies the reason to follow.
A lead is an opportunity
At the halfway point, Fuenmayor was only one shot behind. Fellow amateur Collin Hodgkinson, coming off a 63, was among three players another shot back at 11-under.
There was plenty of golf left and little room to assume the hardest work was finished.
Advancing from Soboba would send Block to Second Stage in December. Final Stage would still stand beyond that. A PGA TOUR card remains several demanding steps away. AmateurGolf.com’s Q-School coverage
But there is a reason to pay attention now, while the outcome is still uncertain.
Block has backed up a closing 63 in one stage with a 62 in the next. He has given himself a chance to keep playing deeper into the fall, against fields that get tougher as the opportunities get fewer.
The next round does not have to be another 62.
It has to help earn him somewhere to play.