Will US Senior Open winner Richard Bland be at The Open Championship 2024? LIV golfer’s eligibility explored

Richard Bland is in impressive form right now. The golfer is on LIV Golf presently. However, since he played on the European Tour in the last five years, he is eligible to compete in senior events. A unique qualifying loophole got him into these events. Will he be able to play regular Majors as a result?

Bland does not ordinarily qualify for the Open Championship, which is the final Major tournament for the golf season. The Masters, PGA Championship, and US Open have all passed. There are numerous ways to qualify, but Bland does not meet them.

He played his first two Senior Tour events, winning both of them. Improbably, they were both Majors. He made his debut in the Kitchenaid Senior PGA Championship, winning that one by three strokes after an eight-under final round.

He followed it up by shooting four under in the final round at the US Senior Open to force a playoff that took four holes. Ultimately, he prevailed again and earned his second consecutive Major win. Prior to those, Bland didn't even know he could play in those events.

Unfortunately, that won't extend into the regular Majors. Richard Bland is in top form and has done something rather unprecedented, but it doesn't put him in the field for the Open. He could, however, earn an exemption into the field, but those are handed out by the tournament sponsor and it remains to be seen which players will get those.

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In what ways could Richard Bland have qualified for the Open Championship?

There are more than a few ways to qualify for the Open. The main one is by OWGR. Everyone in the top 50 of the golf rankings can make it into the field, but Bland isn't in there. LIV Golf events don't give ranking points, and the points earned from Champions Tour events were not enough.

Richard Bland will not be at the Open Championship

Here are the main alternate routes:

• Win the Open (ever) and be under 60
• Last 10 Open winners
• Top 10 and ties from 2023 Open
• Top 30 in Race to Dubai rankings
• Win BMW PGA Championship
• Top five players in Race to Dubai rankings after 2024 BMW International Open
• Last five Masters winners
• Last six PGA Championship winners
• Last five US Open winners
• Last three Players Championship winners
• Top 30 from 2023 FedEx points
• Top five PGA Tour members on FedEx Cup Points List after 2024 Travelers Championship
• VISA Open de Argentina winner
• Japan Open winner
• Amateur Championship winner
• European Amateur winner
• African Amateur winner
• Latin America Amateur winner
• Asia-Pacific champion
• Mark H McCormack Medal winner
• Open Qualifying Series
• 2023 Senior Open winner

The last one is key, as Richard Bland did win a Senior Open. However, he didn't win the 2023 version. Based on these criteria, he'll be eligible for the 2025 Open Championship.