ROCESTER, England — “I was never finished,” Richard Bland says, with about as much conviction as the pin-seeking bunker shot that won him the U.S. Senior Open earlier this month in a record-tying back-to-back major triumph.
The gritty Englishman who middled for years, lost his European Tour card three times and went 477 events before winning the British Masters in 2021 knew, somewhere deep inside, that a ‘few bad years’ would not break him, even if others were suggesting so.
“Life just got in the way,” Bland recalls, looking back to a period from 2017 where his form fell off a cliff before a surprising surge, sparked partly by a move to LIV helped create a popular, but unlikely feel-good story.
When Bland bounced into 2017 on the back of a high-earning year loaded with top-10 finishes and only a handful of finishes outside of the top 30, he thought a win was around the corner. Granted, there were no headline-grabbing performances, just the kind of consistent golf that acts as a building block for better things, but still, he says: “Of course, I felt a win was coming.”
Then, brother Heath fell ill, first with an induced coma for five weeks around Christmas after catching a virus that caused his heart to stop two times, and thereafter, the debilitating diagnosis of bowel cancer. His horrific health problems have persisted. Only a few days before Bland, 51, won the Senior PGA Championship on his debut in May, his brother was diagnosed with lung cancer. Much of the journey has been tough and while Bland’s dip was inextricably linked to his brother’s suffering — “there have been times when my head is not in it,” he says — success on the golf course is now seen as a small coping mechanism for him and his family.
Making bogeys and missing cuts used to be insignificant when he thought about Heath, and the blood clots in his body that were life-threatening, and how he has since had his prostate, bladder and most of his bowel removed. Bland’s voice has a deep pain when he discusses other symptoms and consequences. Heath can no longer go to the toilet because he has two colostomy bags attached to collect waste after requiring surgery. The determination to beat it inspires his brother — a growing fan favourite on LIV — daily.
Clearly, grit and resilience, albeit in totally different circumstances, are a part of the Bland DNA, though, and this week at the JCB Country Club — not far away from The Belfry, the site of that career-defining British Masters victory — the shining ex-European Tour grinder is hoping for a fairytale finish.
WHAT A SHOT! 😱
Richard Bland’s clutch bunker shot en route to victory! pic.twitter.com/G3sbdg6jXJ
— USGA (@USGA) July 1, 2024
Bland, who joined Arnold Palmer (1980-81) and Alex Cejka (2021) as the only men to win their first two senior major starts, could have been teeing it up at Carnoustie this week in the hope of making it three majors in a row at The Senior Open, but his loyalties to LIV and decision not to pay outstanding fines to the DP World Tour make him ineligible.
“I knew the position from last year so it’s not on my mind,” he says. “I was never going back to the DP World Tour, not when my LIV career finishes, either, so I didn’t see the point in giving them a million dollars. I didn’t even ask LIV for a release because my priorities are here.”
Instead Bland is targeting the victory that would bring the ultimate satisfaction. A win on LIV. “Against this field — the likes of Jon Rahm, Brooks (Koepka), Cam Smith, Bryson (DeChambeau) — over 54 holes. That would be special.”
Fuelling the fire is a special visitor. Heath has delayed surgery on his lung cancer for a week just to attend as anticipation grows for one of LIV’s biggest events to date. “I’m not overly happy about it,” Bland says, “but I’ve managed to get him a buggy because he can’t walk, and it will be great to have him around, of course.”
A career revival has shifted some of the focus during a time of pain. So many tears have been shed between the pair who drive each other on through relentless encouragement but success this week would top the lot.
A long-awaited trip to Augusta National at the back end of 2023 sparked uncontrollable waterworks as emotions between the brothers rode high.
“I reached out to a friend in 2017 to see if we could play but it was delayed because my brother lost around 40 (pounds) and needed time to recover,” Bland says. “But to get there and see him make three gross birdies was one of the best days of my life. We were actually crying our eyes out. For him to make three birdies, well you should have seen the look on his face.”
Memorable moments like that are not taken for granted, Bland insists. Meaningful relationships are also more important than career success and earnings … “because I haven’t got a huge amount of time left in the game.”
He says meeting his second wife, Kate, not long before that much-discussed first win, was the biggest game-changer. “She’s one of the reasons why I’m much better at not taking bad golf back home. When you find the right partner, it just makes you want to be a better person.”
Time with his brother is also precious. A trip to Arizona is planned for later in the year. Just the lads. Playing golf for fun in the sun. “Let’s see how his surgery goes but there’s a flight for him waiting. He doesn’t deserve any more suffering. If he wants to buggy around that’s fine.”
Financial freedom has given Bland the security to give his brother anything he needs now in his battle against cancer. He’s consistent with his message that he joined LIV for the opportunity to play for big money, not that he was paid a signing-on fee like others. “LIV has taken a huge weight off my shoulders. I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to live the rest of my life, not that I’m an extravagant person.”
Bland laughs about the high life some of his peers live and how he’s far removed from private jets and other luxuries. “I mean if there’s a good first-class deal I might take that,” he laughs when asked about his flying arrangements, but aside from buying a “few nice watches” he prefers to spend money on family experiences.
A modest upbringing raised him well. “Mum and dad always put food on the table but they had to fight for everything and that instilled that in myself, my brother and sister, so you know, I’ve always got a pretty good value of what money is worth.”
Richard Bland, right, still competes on the LIV against Jon Rahm and other top-ranked stars, but has also won two senior majors. (Joaquin Corchero / Europa Press via Getty Images)
Bland did purchase a new Porsche Cayenne recently, but that was the first car he owned for 20 years. “I always leased a car through the DP World Tour and I can’t do that now! There are players who have a Lamborghini here and another in Spain but that wouldn’t make me feel any better. I’d rather have my (satisfaction) on the golf course.”
His one guilty pleasure is … wait for it … “a new pair of socks every day. I love that.” Rolling them up in pursuit of a £4 million top prize is now the priority in Staffordshire this week, in a year where he has already topped £10 m in LIV prize money alone.
It’s not bad for a guy who was barely recognised at events just a few years ago when he pushed for what seemed like an elusive win, and now has team members holding up placards with slogans like “Blandemonium on the Blandepodium”.
Well-placed people at The Wisley, near his home in Woking, where he practices in-between tournaments, talk about a battled-hardened, plucky, performer who enjoys the process of mastering his craft. There are 14 tour players attached to the club but Bland will often team up with any group playing at the same time he’s there. Members have found him even more affable since his recent rise to fame. A BBQ has been arranged to celebrate his success this summer and there won’t be an empty seat in the house.
So did he ever get fed up with all those days as a loser? “No, because I never lost. And what else was I going to do? Golf was always going to be my life, it just took me a little longer to get where I wanted to be.”
Achieving the Bland Slam of three majors may be off the cards but next year he will return to the U.S. Senior Open proud and holding his head high as champion.
“I get to host the dinner and I think I’ll go for my mum’s homemade lamb roast. She might even come with me and cook it.”
(Top photo: Brennan Asplen / Getty Images)
