Richard Bland, the English professional golfer, has made quite a name in the golf world. He won his first European Tour title at the age of 48 in 2001 at the Challenge Tour, defeating Philip Golding by five strokes. The 51-year-old became the oldest first-time winner in the history of the Tour after his 478th start of his career.

Apart from that, we are currently maintaining a lead after two rounds of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. The golfer found the right person, his wife, a while ago! He got married to the love of his life, Catrin Nystrom, in 2022, at the age of 49. Let’s get to know golfers’s pillars of support a bit better.

Who is Catrin Nystrom, and how did she meet Richard Bland?

Catrin Nystrom was born on March 29, 1982, in Sweden. She moved to the United Kingdom after being stationed in London as a flight attendant and had no idea about the golf world or how it worked. Having barely any time left for herself, she used dating apps to go out on dates, and it was after one such swipe that she matched with the English professional golfer in 2020.

Although it felt weird going out on a date with a man who was then 47 years old, they hit it off pretty quickly. As she discussed her childhood in Sweden, he told her about his challenges as a professional golfer. However, not knowing the golf world, Kate was pretty suspicious. “It didn’t register at all. I was like, Oh, OK, that’s nice. But I didn’t understand. I didn’t even know what a professional golfer was. Like, do you have a real job on the side? Or do you only play golf?” she said.

After looking him up on Google, she had her clarity, and they went on a second date and were growing fond of each other as the days passed. As they had just begun enjoying each other’s company, the world was hit by the COVID-19 crisis. It meant that both of them had to live out the lockdown in London, hoping to reconnect after it ended or go all-in to see if things worked out. And well, fortunately, both of them agreed to the latter.

Richard Bland and Catrin Nystrom decided to go with the flow and trust their gut. She moved in with him during the pandemic, and they only kept growing closer, battling through the tough times. They soon had no intention of hitting back at reality. Nonetheless, they had to get back to work—Nystrom to the flight cabin and Bland to the golf course—which meant going different ways. With all the travel restrictions imposed on airlines, she figured out that the only way she could go with Bland to his tournaments in Qatar and Kenya was if she became his caddie.

Richard Bland and Catrin Nystrom found common ground

Although Kate had no idea what it meant to be a caddie, she was not ready to give up on them yet. She decided to take up that lifestyle diligently enough, as neither of them wanted to be apart. “Yeah, great! So the first time I saw him on the course was when I caddied for him in Qatar. It was like standing in a hairdryer,” she said. She caddied for him for the first time at the US Open 2021, and the two enjoyed it on the field together.

Right after that year, on July 23, 2022, Catrin Nystrom decided to take over his surname. Richard Bland announced their wedding on his Instagram account, sharing a happy picture of themselves after getting married and captioning it with just the special date. Ever since, the couple has been tight.

No matter what the circumstances, it has been a mandatory event for Richard Bland to share a post for his wife on her birthday in March. Every year, he posts a beautiful picture of Catrin Nystrom Bland and expresses his feelings for her. He posted a picture of themselves together for the first time, months before they got married in 2022.

Bland wrote, “Happy Birthday to my best friend ❤️ & the most gorgeous human being I’ve ever met ❤️ @misscatrin_nystrom ❤️ hope you have a great day & love you always & forever ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️”. Catrin seems to be fond of traveling, as evident by the pictures her husband shares on his Instagram. Bland does not shy away from expressing his immense love for his wife! What are your thoughts on the lovely couple? Share with us in the comments section below!