Richard

Bland

Having tasted victory on the European Tour, ‘Blandy’ – as he is affectionately nicknamed – won two senior majors in 2024 in his first attempts.
 
In the space of three months, Bland finished at the top of the leaderboard at both the Senior PGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Open to match the great Arnold Palmer’s record of winning his first two senior starts.
 
At the Senior PGA in May, Bland shot a final-round 63 to seal a comfortable three-stroke victory over the field at Harbor Shores, but he needed four extra holes to knock off overnight leader Hiroyuki Fujita in July’s U.S. Senior Open at Newport Country Club.
 
The deciding moment came on the par-4 18th, which was being used as a sudden death hole, where Bland had to play his third shot out of a greenside bunker.
 
His chip was clean and after two bounces his ball hit the base of the pin and nestled down two inches from the hole.
 
Fujita’s 25-foot putt for par was close but not close enough and Bland was able to tap in for the championship.  
 
The celebrations continued on his return to LIV duty, where Bland was greeted by members of the LIV Golf Andalucia staff holding ‘Blandy’ head cutouts and poster boards with the slogan ‘Blandemonium on the Blandepodium’.

Richard Bland joined LIV Golf for the very first event at London in 2022. He is a long-time member of Martin Kaymer’s Cleeks GC, and in his three full seasons with LIV, the reliable pro has secured top 24 finishes in the Individual Standings every time, automatically retaining his place on the team.
 
His beloved Cleeks won their first team event at Houston in 2024 having just missed out in Singapore a few weeks before.
 
Bland says that was one of his greatest moments in golf and that he would never want to play for another team.
 
“We were pretty (mad) that we didn't win in Singapore,” he told Fairway To Heaven, LIV Golf’s official podcast.
 
“Me and Martin sat in the players’ lounge, I think I’d made a double on 11 with a 9-iron in my hand from the fairway and Martin three-putted his last hole and maybe missed another 4- or 5-footer on 16 or 17 as well.
 
“I said to Martin: ‘Isn't this great, we've just finished second here and we're absolutely fuming, look how far we've come.’
 
“To then go and win the next one four weeks later, that was one of the most special experiences I've ever had, to be able to do it with three of your friends, that was incredible.”
 
“Cleeks is where I want to be, I don't want to be anywhere else, I want to finish my LIV career with them.”

While Richard Bland has been enjoying recent success on the golf course, the health of his elder brother Heath has never been far from his mind.
 
Heath Bland was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the start of 2023.
 
“He's probably one of the fortunate ones that we're hoping has come through the other side,” Richard said, speaking on "Heng Time" in September 2024. “We had some really good news that he's now cancer free, but he's got to be closely monitored for the next 18 months because there’s a high risk for it to come back.
 
“But if they keep a really close eye on him, if anything does happen it will be caught early enough.
 
“We're really proud of him that he's cancer free and hopefully it stays that way.”

Bland admits to not being one of golf’s big hitters so he has concentrated on honing his approach game.

“I know I can't compete with Bryson (DeChambeau) and those guys off the tee and that's fine,” he said. “But I can be better than them from 150 yards in and that's what I've prided myself on.

“The last five or six years I've worked really hard on controlling my distances, working on yardages so that as long as I can keep my distance up, I can break the back of the hole.”

What Bland lacks in the power drive from the tee, he more than makes up for with technique, with a smooth swing that doesn’t exhibit any conflicts between posture and club.

With plenty of width from his stance, he is able to sweep the driver back a long way while keeping his head still, then on the downswing he rotates his left hip neatly out of the way while keeping his arms clear and in front as he pushes through the ball. 

In July 2022 Bland announced on his Instagram account that he had married girlfriend Catrin Nystrom.

At one stage Catrin – who Bland refers to as ‘Kate’ – caddied for him while they were dating as the Covid pandemic had done its best to keep them apart.

Bland gives her credit for the improvement in his game. 

“Kate's a big part of what I've been able to do,” he told Heng Time. “When things are good off the course that usually helps to make things good on the course, so she's a huge part of why I've played so well.”

Away from golf, Bland supports English Premier League football club Southampton and loves watching Formula 1 racing. 

“I’m a big F1 fan,” he said, revealing that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is his favorite.

“He’s one of those drivers that just kind of goes for it, I love that attitude.”