“I just wanted to win for him so bad.” – said a happy Richard Bland moments after winning his first senior major championship title at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. He had done so for his brother Heath Bland who was diagnosed with lung cancer last week while in remission from bowel cancer. The golfer, in memory, dedicated the victory to his sick brother in a heartwarming display of affection.

The athlete, meanwhile managed to get into the field for the senior major championship through his earlier triumph at the 2021 Betfred British Masters. However, his journey to the DP World Tour event where he emerged victorious was nothing short of difficult as he was spotted recounting the same.

Richard Bland’s difficult journey pushed him forward

The English professional had lost his European Tour card back in 2018. It wasn’t because he was a poor golfer but because his mind was filled with the thoughts of his sick brother. Bland’s older sibling had been in a coma resulting in him being out of focus; “Not a lot of people know this, my brother has had a tough time of it. He was in a coma for six weeks over Christmas end of 2017; actually died twice.”

When the senior pro started playing in January 2018, he was unsure of his brother’s survival rate until half of the year went by resulting in him not dishing out his best and thereby losing Tour status; “When I started back playing in January we didn’t know whether he was going to survive or not. It wasn’t until about July, August that we knew he was pretty much okay… first months of that year I just wasn’t at the races so I lost my card.” Consequently, the athlete was ranked No. 146 in driving distance, No. 127 in Greens in Regulation, and No. 124 in Stroke Average and fell to No. 163 on the OWGR.

Richard Bland, however, did not let this affect him as he knew he still had so much to offer to the sport even when some people asked him, “Is that it? Are you going to find something else to do?” The golfer, as an answer to their doubts, decided to work hard. He recounted, “I  knew I still had something to offer to the game… I kept working hard. Went back to the Challenge Tour and got my card straight back, and fortunately, it’s been kind of like an upward trend from there. My school report always said he was a slow learner, so I’ve kind of figured it out in the end I think.” He sure did come out guns blazing as he was able to climb to the 76th rank in 2020, and then 11th in 2021 owing to the British Open victory that gained him a one-time exemption on the recently ended senior major.

The rest is history as he was able to clinch another professional win, and that too in his senior major championship debut. But curiosity naturally arises as to what happened to the LIV golfer’s brother back in 2017.

The unfortunate coma that Bland’s brother fell in

Heath Bland came down with what he believed was a flu back in December 2017. But things took a turn for the worse when he was rushed to the hospital while sporting chest pains resulting in his heart stopping for a few seconds. Richard Bland’s brother was then transferred to Royal Brompton where he fell into a coma due to the virus that attacked his heart.

Fortunately, the golfer’s older brother fought desperately for his life and came back from the coma soon after. Recounting the experience, he said, “I can’t thank them enough for saving my life, and raising this money to help is really important for myself and my brother. The staff at the hospital were brilliant.” The two siblings then donated nearly $16,272 to Southampton Hospital Charity.

It truly was an inspiring journey. Now, Richard Bland’s brother is awaiting the results of the scan that will come out next week. At the same time, a win by the professional hopefully might indicate good times ahead for the pair!