Richard

Bland

Having tasted victory on the European Tour, ‘Blandy’ – as he is affectionately nicknamed – won two Senior Majors in 2024 at his very first attempt.
 
In the space of three months last summer, Bland finished top of the leaderboard at both the Senior PGA Championship and the US Senior Open, to match the great Arnold Palmer’s record of winning his first two senior starts.
 
At the 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 beat off overnight leader Hiroyuki Fujita in July’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 and be rewarded with a bear hug from caddie James Walton.  
 
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 and has not hidden the fact that financial security was his main motivation, although he didn’t receive a signing on bonus.
 
“LIV didn't offer me a dollar, it was just purely the opportunity to play," he told Golf Monthly.
 
“I had the opportunity to make my life, my family's life and whatever we do as a family a lot easier, so it was a no brainer.”
 
The numbers have certainly added up for Bland since.
 
In 511 tournaments on the DP World Tour (European Tour) he won around $8.6million but managed to almost match that in his first two seasons with LIV, earning $3.5m in prize money in his first season and another $4.4m in 2023.
 
Last year his earnings were boosted further with $2.3m from the LIV Golf Series plus $630,000 prize money from the Senior PGA Championship and $800,000 at the US Senior Open.
 
Bland 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 team place.
 
His beloved Cleeks won their first team event at Houston last season 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 p***** off that we didn't win in Singapore,” he told Fairway To Heaven, LIV Golf’s official podcast.
 
“Me and Martin were 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 four or five-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 but thankfully now appears to be winning his fight.
 
“He's probably one of the fortunate ones that we're hoping has come through the other side,” Richard said, speaking on Heng Time last September.  
 
“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 @richbland478 that he had married girlfriend Catrin Nystrom, a former Swedish flight attendant.

At one stage wife 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.”

It is not easy trying to keep up with what’s in a golfer’s bag as good or bad form can dictate club choices just as much as having an equipment deal in place. 

Bland hinted on Heng Time that he’s employing a new set of irons for 2025, but we can look at some of his favorites from the past.

Bland was a fan of the TaylorMade M2 driver but in 2022 replaced it with the updated TaylorMade Stealth Plus (10.5 degrees, Mitsubishi Diamana shaft).

He has relied on TaylorMade woods too, with a 3-wood Stealth Plus (15 degrees, Fujikura Ventus Red 7 X shaft), 5-wood Burner SuperFast (18 degrees, Mitsubishi Diamana 83 S shaft) and 7-Wood Stealth (21 degrees, Fujikura Ventus Red 8 X shaft).

There has been a mix of brands with his irons, preferring the Callaway Apex Pro (3-5 and 7) and the Honma T-World Rose Proto (8-10).

Taylor Made reappears in the wedge selection with MG Hi-Toe (50-09, 54-10, 58-10) and the collection is rounded off with an Odyssey Tank Cruiser 7 putter.

His ball of choice is the Titleist Pro V1.