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'It's been a whirlwind' | Quail Hollow assistant pro to play in PGA Championship

Preston Cole will tee off Thursday morning at Valhalla Golf Club in one of golf's four major championships.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — At the 2023 PGA Championship, Michael Block became a Cinderella story.

The club pro from California finished tied for fifteenth at the major, making a star turn that hasn't slowed down.

Even this week, Block's autograph is highly sought after at the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

"I think that story is inspiring for a lot of golf professionals that, hey, we can compete," Preston Cole, the Assistant PGA Professional at Quail Hollow Club, told WCNC Charlotte.

This week, Cole will try and follow in Block's footsteps. He's one of the 21 PGA Professionals competing in this year's PGA Championship.

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"It's been a whirlwind," Cole said.

Cole qualified for the major event by finishing tied for eighth at the PGA Professional Championship in Texas last week. The top 20 can play in the PGA Championship.

Then, unlike most of this week's field, he had to put in a week of work at the Wells Fargo Championship, selling merchandise at Quail Hollow Club.

"My boss has been great at letting me out to get a little work in and keep the game sharp," Cole said.

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The Greenville, South Carolina native and former Furman University standout will tee off at 9:32 a.m., Thursday alongside PGA Tour players Tim Widing and Adrian Otaegui off of hole No. 10.

"That's more the hurdle now, getting used to playing in front of thousands of people rather than a couple of family members," he said. "I'm just soaking it all in and having some fun with it."

Of course, he'd love to live like Michael Block did at last year's PGA Championship, but playing in a major is pretty cool.

"It's always a dream of any golfer to play in a major and play well," Cole said. "We're going to do the first, and hopefully we can do the second."

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And, not to get too far ahead, but if Cole can qualify for the 2025 PGA Championship, he might get that week off of work. It will be at Quail Hollow Club.

"Quail Hollow would be a dream come true to get to play a major championship on your home golf course," Cole said. "It could be awesome."

Contact Nick Carboni at ncarboni@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.

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