After playing for 20 years on the DP World Tour, Richard Bland lifted his first and only trophy in 2021. The Englishman became the oldest winner in the history of the European Tour at the age of 48, winning the British Masters at the Belfry. In a twist, after a year of his maiden victory, he moved to the then-newly introduced LIV Golf.

Bland signed with the Saudi side in the summer of 2022 and played his first LIV Golf event in London. Just like many other LIV stars’ contracts, the value of his too remains undisclosed. What was confirmed, however, was that his contract was just for a year. In 2023, when LIV’s relegations drew close, Bland, who finished 20th on the individual standings at the end of the season, was assured of a new contract and re-signed with the league. The amount, however, still remains unknown.

Since joining LIV Golf, Richard Bland has been part of the Cleeks GC team. And with them, he’s won a lot! The veteran has earned $10.41 million from LIV Golf events, of which $2.02 million came just this year. This surpasses even Phil Mickelson’s ($6.5 million) and Bubba Watson’s ($8.23 million) LIV career earnings. And compared to his career earnings from the DP World Tour (7.99 million from 511 events), that’s almost inconceivable!

Sadly, not everything has been sunshine and rainbows for Bland since he signed with LIV Golf. Even though Bland was one of the few golfers who wasn’t completely brushed aside by the golf world, unlike Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed, his signing with the PIF-backed league resulted in lesser screen time whenever he played in the DP World Tour events before he eventually got banned.

Another big hit came when it was announced that he could not compete on the Senior Tour (Tour of Champions) since he could not play in their qualifying events thanks to his defection. However, a fortunate turn of events recently led to him living out his dream, at least partially!

Richard Bland debuts at the Senior PGA Championship

Last year, Richard Bland received a special invitation from the PGA of America to compete in the Senior PGA Championship; however, since it clashed with his LIV Golf schedule, he could not compete. This year, Bland himself asked Bob Jeffrey (PGA of America Director) and Seth Waugh (CEO) for an invitation to the senior major!

Despite the beef the Tour has with LIV, the pro’s request was accepted without pushback. Richard Bland, of course, was more than grateful to the CEO for it. After all, the 51-year-old probably would’ve never expected his first senior outing to come at the major.

At Harbour Shore Resort, Bland and Richard Green share the lead after 18 holes. The English pro made five birdies and one eagle (on the 15th hole) to shoot 7 under 64 and be in contention. Post-round, he remarked that, with this given chance, he wanted to do something huge. And now he is perhaps just 3 days away from doing so!