Will Family Tragedy Force LIV Golfer Richard Bland to Retire Early? His Future Plans Amid Senior Tour Resurgence Explored

For the two decades that Richard Bland played on the DP World Tour, he was failing to rank up on the stairs of success and make a name for himself. With his on-course struggles, in 2018, the English pro was made aware of his older brother, Heath Bland’s, critical condition, which affected his game more.

However, without losing a sweat, the 51-year-old kept pushing, and at his 478th start on the European Circuit, he clinched his maiden victory to become the oldest winner on the DP World Tour in 2021. With his late rise in golf came the emergence of LIV Golf, which gave him a way to continue playing golf at the highest level and support his close-knit family too. However, after three years since his first career win, Bland is now focused on his retirement.

Richard Bland discusses his retirement plans

Just last year, Richard Bland was denied playing in the Senior Open Championship as he had undue fines at the DP World Tour. However, this year, the 51-year-old received a sponsor exemption to play in the 2024 Senior PGA Championship and miraculously won his major debut after carding 8-under-63 in the final round.

He played in the 2024 Senior U.S. Open and won, making it a historic win for him. Bland shared his retirement plan with The Times. Bland explained that the tenure of his LIV Golf contract might change and said, “Whenever I lose my spot on LIV, I think that will be me done, regardless of how I’m playing. I’ve got maybe another 18 months left, and then I’ll cross that bridge.” 

The 1-time senior major winner explained that after his brother Heath was diagnosed with bowel cancer last year and before he made his debut at the Senior PGA Championship, Heath was diagnosed with lung cancer just a few months ago. Seeing his brother’s deteriorating health, Bland was grateful for his life and vowed to enjoy it more by traveling than just playing golf. He added, “I’d like to do that [travel] while I’m still fit and able; I’d like to go on golf trips with friends and just have fun without competing.” 

But before that, Bland wanted to have one last chance to showcase his true form and what he could not do when he was young by playing in a few more senior events. However, Bland’s fate was not as favorable to him as he would have expected, but it didn’t surprise him.

Richard Bland calls the PGA Tour over the rejected exemption

Usually, the winner of any of the five senior majors receives a one-year exemption from the PGA Tour to compete in the Senior Tour. However, that would not be the case if that winner was a LIV golfer, and that’s exactly what happened with Richard Bland. After his scintillating victory over the likes of Ernie Els, Steve Sticker, and Padraig Harrington at the Harbor Shores Golf Club in Michigan, Bland had slight hope that he might get a chance to tee up at the PGA Tour Champions just like his fellow senior golfers do.

However, the PGA Tour shattered that dream even before it could fully form, and the Tour stated, “In spite of the win, because of competing in an unauthorized event by the PGA Tour, [Bland] will be ineligible for Tour-affiliated events.“ Now, a few days after the rejection, Bland has shared his thoughts about the PGA Tour’s decision.

Although the English pro didn’t outwardly show his disappointment, his words did show a tinge of it. He said, “I kind of expected it. The only thing that was a bit strange was that they didn’t contact me. I only found out I was banned on social media. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s their loss, not mine.”

Regardless of what the future now holds as the two sides look forward to a merger, Bland isn’t as interested as he was and expressed that he would be more focused on living a fulfilling life and supporting his brother financially as much as he can.