LIV Golfer Richard Bland Says He Wouldn't Be 'Hugely Welcome' on PGA Tour Champions

With the future of LIV Golf uncertain, the 53-year-old Englishman's full-time playing days are nearing an end, and he doesn't plan to embark on a new journey on the PGA Tour Champions.

Richard Bland knows retirement is near, regardless of what LIV Golf's future holds. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Richard Bland, regardless of what LIV Golf’s future holds, knows the end is near for him. 

“I kind of earmarked next year would probably be my last year of playing full-time,” the 53-year-old Englishman said Friday at LIV Golf Virginia. 

However, where will his career wrap up? LIV Golf is seeking a new financial backer after the Saudi Public Investment Fund announced it will no longer bankroll the league following this season. 

Turning pro in 1996, Bland became the DP World Tour’s oldest first-time champion in 2021 when he won the Betfred British Masters. A year later, he cashed in and joined LIV Golf.

“I’ve had one helluva ride out here and the best decision I ever made,” he said. 

If LIV folds after this year, could he play the PGA Tour Champions? He won two senior majors in 2024, the Senior PGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Open (the PGA Tour Champions does not run those events), but he doesn’t believe that’s an option. 

“From what I’ve been told, I’m not hugely welcome there,” he said. 

No hard feelings, though. 

“I think the Champions Tour have made it pretty now impossible for anybody to come and play,” Bland said. “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. Like you say, I got asked the question the other day, would you consider going back to DP World [Tour] Q-School? No.”

Pat Perez, for example, left LIV after last season and is serving a one-year suspension from the PGA Tour Champions. He plans to play on the circuit full-time in 2027. Henrik Stenson is following a similar path. 

Bland, meanwhile, is hopeful LIV will find a way to stay afloat. And if that’s the case, he wants to remain affiliated with his team, the Cleeks, even if his playing days end, rather than start a new journey on a different tour. 

“I hope that whatever we become in the future, that I can stay with the Cleeks in some form,” he said, “even if it's taking the TrackMans back to the clubhouse or something like that. I would love to stay on board with the Cleeks in some way.”