'I’m The Best Player I’ve Ever Been' - Richard Bland Credits LIV Golf Move As Reason For Unprecedented Form Following US Senior Open Win
The Englishman claimed his second over-50s Major in a playoff on Monday, adding on to his Senior PGA Championship title, and believes his switch to LIV led to such excellent play


Fresh off the back of winning the US Senior Open - his second over-50s Major in two starts - Richard Bland believes he is "the best player I've ever been."
The 51-year-old triumphed in a playoff over Hiroyuki Fujita at Newport Country Club on Monday, following up his Senior PGA Championship victory earlier this year.
Bland's number of wins in senior Majors is already higher than the number of victories he managed in 20 years on the European Tour (one), although his OWGR spot has taken a significant dip after his move to the LIV Golf League in 2022.
At the time, Bland had not long been as high as 48th in the world. But the man from Burton Upon Trent in England insists he is now "a way better golfer than I was back then" due to competing against serial Major winners such as Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, and Brooks Koepka on a weekly basis.
In his first two years with the 54-hole circuit, Bland has maintained his spot in the competition for the following season by ending the campaign inside the 'Lock Zone' - the top-24 players.
Ultimately crediting what he believes to be unprecedented levels of play - three years on from leading the US Open at Torrey Pines before falling away at the weekend - to his decision in 2022, Bland heaped all possible praise on his move to LIV.
He said: "Yeah, I’m a way better golfer than I was back then, but I think that’s the caliber of players that I’m playing against on LIV. To play against Bryson, who won just the other week at Pinehurst, to play against him, to play against Jon Rahm, Cam Smith, DJ [Dustin Johnson], Brooks [Koepka], they’re the best players in the world.
Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
"I don’t care what the world ranking says. If I’m going to compete with those guys, I have to bring my A game. I have to. I can’t bring my C game, and it won’t stack up against those.
"It just elevates my game, and I think it’s done that unbelievably over the last three years. It’s just made me a better player. You’re not always going to be playing your best golf, but I’m the best player I’ve ever been."
Another motivating factor for the four-time pro winner is to make his brother Heath happy, who has been battling cancer for several years but is due to undergo surgery to remove a tumor from his lung soon.
Richard Bland's only DP World Tour win was at the 2021 British Masters
Bland has often referenced his brother after successes and said Heath is always on his mind somewhere. The 51-year-old said after his latest senior Major victory that the PGA Championship trophy will now belong to Heath while the US Senior Open silverware will be enjoyed at home by Bland and his wife.
"Yeah, he's always there kind of in the back of all of our minds," said Bland. "It's been a tough 15, 16 months for him and the family. Hopefully he's going to have some surgery soon to get rid of the tumor from his lung.
"We had some good news that it's not going to be hugely invasive surgery. It's only going to be keyhole, and it's going to be only an overnight stay. When he had his surgery three, four months ago for his bowel cancer, he was in hospital for nearly six weeks, and it was a 15-hour operation.
"Yeah, we're just praying that hopefully that once this is gone, that's it for him. It's one of those diseases that's just -- you know, we wish we could eradicate. You wouldn't want to wish it on anyone's life. You hear the statistics that it's kind of one in every two people get it, and you always kind of think, you know what, it won't happen to us. When it does, it's like a train wreck. It's an absolute train wreck.
"I was fortunate to win the PGA and obviously win -- I think I get the replica for that this week. I've always said that that's his. He can have that. That was always for him. But this one right here, this one's for me and my wife.
"I'm just looking forward to getting back home and seeing the family. I've been away for four weeks now. Yeah, really looking forward to getting home."
Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Joaquin Niemann. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and recently reached his Handicap goal of 18 for the first time. He attended both the 150th and 151st Open Championships and dreams of attending The Masters one day.
-
Quiz! How Well Do You Know Old Tom Morris, The 'Father Of Golf'?
He was one of the most influential men in defining golf as we now play it, but how well do you know his career?
By Roderick Easdale Published
-
JJ Spaun Didn’t Win The Players Championship, But Here’s Everything He Gets After A Life-Changing Week At TPC Sawgrass
Spaun may have missed out on Players Championship victory, but the American can take solace in a number of positives from a fine week at TPC Sawgrass
By Matt Cradock Published
-
Paul McGinley Proposes ‘One Of The Things That I Think LIV Have Got Right’ To Be Applied To PGA Tour
The Golf Channel analyst thinks a key change implemented by LIV Golf could make all the difference to the PGA Tour
By Mike Hall Published
-
Joaquin Niemann Wins LIV Golf Singapore Title
The Chilean won his second LIV Golf event of the season thanks to a bogey-free 65 on Sunday in Singapore
By Elliott Heath Published
-
Jon Rahm Equals Bryson DeChambeau's LIV Golf Record After Strong Start In Singapore
The Legion XIII captain matched Bryson DeChambeau's record for consecutive scores under-par in the second round of LIV Golf Singapore
By Mike Hall Published
-
‘I Think It’s Dead, I Think The Other Side Is Gone’ - Lee Trevino Gives Take On PGA Tour-LIV Golf Divide And Calls For Players And Caddies To Speed Up
Lee Trevino was full of praise for the PGA Tour and its immediate future, as he believes that a deal with the Saudi PIF may not come at all
By Paul Higham Published
-
Dustin Johnson Goes From Worst To First At LIV Golf Singapore
After finishing dead last a week ago, Dustin Johnson fired a brilliant 63 to lead LIV Golf Singapore by three to quieten all the talk about his struggles
By Paul Higham Published
-
'They Need Us' - Bubba Watson Calls For Top 15 From LIV To Qualify For All The Majors
Bubba Watson says the top 15 players in the LIV Golf standings should all get into the Majors the following year - as the big four events need them
By Paul Higham Published
-
Brandel Chamblee Claims There Would Be 'Uproar On The PGA Tour' If LIV Golfers Were Allowed To Play Signature Events
The Golf Channel analyst claimed 'it would be wrong' if players from the LIV Golf League were allowed to play Signature Events on the PGA Tour
By Matt Cradock Published
-
How Can LIV Golf And PGA Tour Work Together? Paul McGinley Reveals Proposal For Unity
The former Ryder Cup captain explained how a PGA Tour and PIF merger could work, with McGinley claiming the circuits need to 'find some common ground'
By Matt Cradock Published