US Senior Open champion Richard Bland details his ‘post-LIV Golf plans’ after Champions Tour exemption denial

LIV golfer Richard Bland, who recently won the US Senior Open, has opened up about his post-LIV Golf plans. The 51-year-old joined LIV Golf in 2022 and has played for Cleeks GC for three straight years.

In an interview with Golf Channel's Dan Parker, Bland was asked about his driving factor to play 14 events in a year and if his main goal is to keep playing LIV Golf. Bland said (via Golf Monthly):

"We've had a month off from LIV and there's been this transfer window where teams can trade if they want to with players. But also players that are in their last year of a contract can be re-signed. Now the Cleeks have asked for me to be re-signed for next year and I've spoken to Martin and Wuhan, our team manager, about it." (19:28-20:08)

Richard Bland is currently 25th in LIV Golf individual rankings, with five events to go. The top 24 players in the LIV Golf receive a one-year extension. He expressed his gratitude to his team caption Martin Kaymer for believing in him despite his age. He hoped that he'd receive an extension and would play next year at LIV.

Bland further talked about post-LIV plans. He said (via Golf Monthly):

"But right now as I've said, I will play LIV for as long as I can and probably when that finishes, that's probably me done. This is why I'm not probably losing a huge amount of sleep over the sort of denial of an exemption to Champions Tour because as I feel right now I don't really have any desire to go play." (20:28-21:06)

Bland was denied Champions Tour exemption despite winning the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. The PGA Tour denied him an exemption due to him joining LIV Golf. The Tour has banned all golfers on LIV from playing in the PGA Tour, including the Senior Tour.

Richard Bland stated that he doesn't want to keep playing competitive golf into his mid-50s unless he keeps playing on LIV Golf. He further said that he'll continue playing the USGA events due to his lifetime exemption and his competitive career will end with his time at LIV Golf.

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A look at Richard Bland's performance in 2024

Richard Bland has had a splendid 2024 season so far. He has had two wins in the two starts at PGA Tour Champions. He won the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Open Championship.

In LIV Golf, Bland has had two top-10 finishes and eight top-25 finishes in the nine starts. His best finishes came at Hong Kong, where he finished T8, and at Nashville where he finished T9.

Let's take a look at Richard Bland's performances in the 2024 season:

LIV Golf Tournaments

1. LIV Golf Mayakoba: T11 (66-74-67, 207, -6)
2. LIV Golf Las Vegas: T15 (69-65-71, 205, -5)
3. LIV Golf Jeddah: T31 (68-69-70, 207, -3)
4. LIV Golf Hong Kong: T8 (66-68-66, 200, -10)
5. LIV Golf Miami: T14 (71-67-73, 211, -5)
6. LIV Golf Adelaide: T22 (68-68-69, 205, -11)
7. LIV Golf Singapore: T22 (70-68-69, 207, -6)
8. LIV Golf Houston: T24 (74-71-67, 212, -4)
9. LIV Golf Nashville: T9 (70-67-66, 203, -10)

2024 PGA TOUR Champions Tournaments

1. KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship: 1 (64-66-74-63, 267, -17)
2. U.S. Senior Open Championship: 1-x (68-64-69-66, 267, -13)