LIV Golf’s future is in doubt, but 53-year-old Richard Bland knows one thing about where his professional career is headed next — it won’t be on the PGA Tour Champions.
Bland, who won the Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Senior Open in 2024, said on Friday at LIV Golf Virginia that he can see the end of his playing days coming. While former LIV members Pat Perez and Henrik Stenson have opted to serve a one-year suspension before teeing it up on the PGA Tour’s senior circuit, Bland won’t be following in his former LIV-mates footsteps.
“From what I’ve been told, I’m not hugely welcome there,” Bland said on Friday.
“I wasn’t given the exemption. I’m the only senior major champion never to get that exemption, and that’s fine, I don’t have an issue with that,” Bland said. “I think the Champions Tour have made it pretty now impossible for anybody to come and play. I’m not going to go chasing it. I’ll be 54 years old, but I’m going to be banned for a year anyway.”
The Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Senior Open are run by the PGA of America and the USGA, respectively, while the PGA Tour operates PGA Tour Champions.
LIV Golf is in uncharted waters after the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund announced that it will withdraw its financial backing for the league after the 2026 season. LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil is working to secure outside investment to keep the league running beyond this season.
For Bland, either way, he knows the end of his professional days is near. That’s something he has made peace with.
“I know it’s coming quite soon,” Bland said of retirement. “I kind of earmarked next year would probably be my last year of playing full-time, as I do right now. Then going forward, really kind of scattered, but play where I want to play. For me right now, I’m 53. For me, the travel is the hard bit. … That’s been the hard thing for me, is recovery, getting ready for tournaments.
Bland turned pro in 1996 and became the DP World Tour’s oldest first-time winner when he captured the Betfred British Masters in 2021. He jumped to LIV Golf during its inaugural season in 2022 and that, at the moment, will be the final chapter of his professional career. He doesn’t feel the need to try to extend it on a senior circuit.
“Semi-retirement, it’s getting a lot nearer — and that’s fine,” Bland said. “I’m okay with that. I’ve had one helluva ride out here and the best decision I ever made.”
