When Richard Bland held up the oldest trophy in senior golf last year at Harbor Shores Golf Club, it was due to sheer determination.
As he hoisted the 36-pound Alfred S. Bourne Trophy, Bland was continuing the magical twilight of his career that started when he won his first DP World Tour event at the 2021 Betfred British Masters in a playoff over Guido Migliozzi.
The oldest first-time winner on the DP World Tour at 48, Bland was propelled into the spotlight, garnering opportunities he had only dreamed about, including major championships.
With two senior major victories, including a U.S. Senior Open title in 2024, Bland is continuing to ride the hot streak of the Belfry in defending this week’s Senior PGA at Congressional.
“I took a lot of positives out of the week, but I actually came away actually a little disappointed that I felt like I played well enough to compete, and I felt like I didn’t putt that well the whole week,” Bland said of his last week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. “I’m not saying I would have given Scottie a run for his money, but I felt like I certainly — there was a top 10 to be had there for me, which would have been an unbelievable week.”
Even with the missed opportunity, Bland has delivered solid performances, including his final round last year in Michigan.
Starting the final round one-shot back of Australian lefthander Greg Chalmers and South African Ernie Els, the 51-year-old Bland had struggled in Saturday’s third round, shooting a three-over 74, but was unfazed on Sunday posting six birdies and alone bogey on the front nine and eventually cruising home to a three-shot victory over Australian Richard Green.
“I knew obviously there’s a lot of good players out here, but having not competed with those guys for quite a while, you don’t know where your game is going to stack up against them,” Bland said of his first appearance in a senior major last year. “I was confident that if I played the golf that I was playing at the time, and I took that forward into the Senior PGA, I felt I would have a say in how the championship would pan out. Fortunately, on Sunday it went my way.
Finishing T37, with three of the four rounds under-par last week at the PGA Championship, Bland sees his experience at Quail as a great precursor for this week and what he sees as a good opportunity at a successful defense.
“It really kind of showed where my game is at, and that’s what I wanted to see,” Bland said of his four rounds last week. “I felt like my game had kind of been just a little off. It’s not a million miles away, but it’s kind of that frustrating stage where I’ve been hitting the ball very well on the practice ground and just not taking it to the golf course. Actually, last week I had to hit the golf ball very well if I was going to have any chance, even just to make the cut. It was nice to be able to do that and actually put sort of three and a half really good ball-striking rounds together, which I’ve not really done as consistently this year as probably the last couple of years.”
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