Richard Bland (golfer)

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Richard Bland
Richard Bland (golfer).JPG
Personal information
Full nameRichard Bland
NicknameBlandy
Born (1973-02-03) 3 February 1973 (age 49)
Burton upon Trent, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Sporting nationality England
ResidenceSouthampton, England
PartnerCatrin Nystrom
Career
Turned professional1996
Current tour(s)European Tour
Former tour(s)Challenge Tour
Professional wins2
Highest ranking53 (30 January 2022)[1]
(as of 6 February 2022)
Number of wins by tour
European Tour1
Challenge Tour1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenT50: 2021
The Open ChampionshipT22: 2017

Richard Bland (born 3 February 1973) is an English professional golfer.

Career[]

Bland was born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. He turned professional in 1996 and reached the final stage of the European Tour's qualifying school in 1997 to gain his card on Europe's second tier Challenge Tour for 1998. In 2001 he won for the first time, at the season ending Challenge Tour Grand Final. The win elevated him in the rankings sufficiently to gain a place on the European Tour for 2002.[2]

During his first season on the European Tour, Bland’s best tournament finish was a tie for 2nd place at the Murphy's Irish Open, losing in a playoff, and ended the year in 73rd place on the Order of Merit. In subsequent seasons, he failed to win enough money to maintain his card on the European Tour several times but regained his playing status each time, via the Challenge Tour rankings in 2004, 2008, and 2019, and via qualifying school in 2007 and 2011.

In May 2021, in his 478th start on the European Tour, Bland achieved his first victory at the Betfred British Masters. At age 48, he became the oldest first-time winner on the European Tour; only Malcolm MacKenzie, with 509, had played more tournaments before claiming his first win on the tour.[3] In June 2021, Bland played in the U.S. Open for just the second time in his career. At 48 years old, he became the oldest player to ever hold a share of the lead of the U.S. Open after two rounds,[4][5] however he fell back over the weekend to finish in a tie for 50th.[6] With eight top-10 finishes during the 2021 European Tour season, Bland finished a career-best 11th place on the Race to Dubai rankings.[7]

In January 2022, Bland finished as runner-up at the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, losing to Viktor Hovland in a playoff.[8]

Amateur wins[]

  • 1994 European Under 21 Championship

Professional wins (2)[]

European Tour wins (1)[]

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 15 May 2021 Betfred British Masters −13 (68-69-72-66=275) Playoff Italy Guido Migliozzi

European Tour playoff record (1–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2002 Murphy's Irish Open Sweden Niclas Fasth, South Africa Darren Fichardt,
Denmark Søren Hansen 		Hansen won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Bland eliminated by birdie on second hole
2 2021 Betfred British Masters Italy Guido Migliozzi Won with par on first extra hole
3 2022 Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic Norway Viktor Hovland Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Challenge Tour wins (1)[]

Legend
Grand Finals (1)
Other Challenge Tour (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 4 Nov 2001 Challenge Tour Grand Final −18 (69-68-66-63=266) 5 strokes England Philip Golding

Results in major championships[]

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 1998 1999
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship T22
PGA Championship
Tournament 2019 2020 2021
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship
U.S. Open T50
The Open Championship NT T67
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships[]

Tournament 2016
Championship
Match Play
Invitational
Champions T30
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Week 5 2022 Ending 30 Jan 2022" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  2. ^ Graham, Tim (4 November 2001). "Italian Open: Roe secures final fling". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  3. ^ "British Masters: Richard Bland claims first victory at 478th attempt after play-off at The Belfry". Sky Sports. 15 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Richard Bland excites Torrey Pines to become oldest 36-hole leader in US Open history". Guardian. 19 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  5. ^ Hart, Jay (18 June 2021). "Richard Bland is leading the way at the U.S. Open ... wait, who?". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  6. ^ "U.S. Open - Leaderboard Thursday, June 17 - Sunday, June 20, 2021 San Diego, CA". PGA Tour. 20 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Oscar Jacobson Congratulates Richard Bland On Career Best Season". Golf Business News. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Viktor Hovland Downs Richard Bland in Playoff to Win Dubai Desert Classic". SI.com. Associated Press. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.

External links[]

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