LIV Golfer Richard Bland finds himself in the 2024 Senior PGA Championship field after earning one-time exemption- "Going to be a new challenge”

Richard Bland will have the chance to compete in the 2024 Senior PGA Championship as the 2024 LIV golf season is about to enter its mid-season break. The Senior Major Championship will start on Thursday, May 23rd, at Harbor Shores Resort in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

The 51-year-old Bland will be participating in the Senior Major Championship for the first time and will hope to embrace the new challenge. Bland got into the field thanks to the one-time exemption for players who have turned 50 and have won a DP World Tour event in the last 5 years.

His chances of competing on the senior tour have been in jeopardy since joining LIV Golf back in 2022. However, Bland's win at the Betfred British Masters in 2021 earned him an exemption to the upcoming Senior PGA Championship.

Richard Bland exudes confidence ahead of 2024 Senior PGA Championship

Ahead of what will be his maiden Senior Tour appearance, Bland is confident and he is looking forward to testing his skills against some big names:

“I’m looking forward to it. It will be interesting to see where my game’s at with regards to some of these guys. I’d like to think that if I play well, I should be there or thereabouts come Sunday,” he said while talking to LIV Golf's Fairway to Heaven Podcast.

Richard Bland confident of a strong finish at the 2024 Senior PGA Championship

Bland plays for the Cleeks in LIV Golf and has showcased some noteworthy performances this year, including a hole-in-one in the season opener at Mayakoba. He currently stands 25th in individual standings while competing against top golfers like Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, etc.

Hence, the British golfer has all the right to be confident ahead of the 2024 Senior PGA Championship. Bland has played professional golf for over 20 years and has seen almost everything in his golfing career.

“It’s going to be a new challenge, but the way I kind of look at it nowadays, I don’t think there’s anything in golf now that I haven’t faced.”

Bland is one of the three golfers over 50 in LIV Golf, along with Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood. However, neither of these golfers is teeing off at the Senior Major Championship event, even though Mickelson had 4 wins in 6 starts on the Senior Tour in 2021.

Meanwhile, the only other prominent golfers alongside Richard Bland are Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington. Stricker is the defending champion of this event, having defeated the Irish golfer Padraig Harrington in the playoffs.