Richard Bland says playing against the ‘best players in the world’ on LIV Golf has made him the ‘best’ he’s ever been

Richard Bland feels that LIV Golf has been a blessing to him. The golfer stated that switching to LIV allowed him to play with the best golfers worldwide and claimed that joining LIV helped improve his skills as a golfer. After winning the US Senior Open with 13-under, Bland credited the LIV fraternity for polishing him as an athlete.

In the US Senior Open, Bland started the first round well with three birdies and finished at 68. In the following round, he dropped four birdies and one eagle on hole 2 and landed at 64. In the third round, he carded five birdies and finished at 69. In the final round, he fired six birdies and landed at 66.

After winning the US Senior Open, Bland joined a presser wherein he claimed how playing against Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and others got him better in competitive golf. He said (via USGA on YouTube):

“I'm a way better golfer than I was back then. But I think that's the caliber of players that I'm playing against on LIV. To play against Bryson, to play against Jon Rahm, Cam Smith, DJ, Brooks - they are the best players in the world. I don't care what the world rankings is. So if I'm gonna compete with those guys, I have to bring my A game... And it's just made me a better player. So yeah, I'm probably the best player. You're not always gonna be playing the best golf, but I'm the best player I've ever been,” Richard Bland said (at 10:19-11:24).

Bland was forced to go into a playoff with Hiroyuki Fujita in the final round of the US Senior Open. In the playoff round, Bland beat Fujita on the fourth hole, shooting 4-under 66 to win the title.

---

US Senior Open winner, Richard Bland’s tournament records in the 2024 season

In the LIV roster, Richard Bland had five top-20 finishes. He had top-20 ranks in LIV Golf Mayakoba, LIV Golf Las Vegas, LIV Golf Hong Kong, LIV Golf Miami, and LIV Golf Nashville.

At Mayakoba, he landed at T11 with 6-under 207. Then, at Las Vegas, he finished at 5-under 205. He secured T8 and T14 at the LIV Golf Hong Kong and LIV Golf Miami, respectively. At LIV Golf Nashville, Bland finished at T9.

In the PGA Tour Champions, Bland participated in two events, winning both of them, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship (17-under 267) and the U.S. Senior Open Championship (13-under 267). In both the events he triumphed and won the winner's share.

After winning the 2024 US Senior Open, Bland took home $800,000 in payout. Bland will next play at LIV Golf Andalucia, slated to take place from July 12 to July 14.