Richard Bland Reveals Surprise At LIV Golf's Demise After Committing To Relaunch
The Englishman had pledged his commitment to LIV Golf 2.0 but admitted he was blindsided by the news that the circuit had reached the end of the road
Richard Bland was one of a handful of players who had publicly pledged his commitment to LIV Golf 2.0, reasoning in October, “I have nowhere else to play.”
That hope has now been extinguished, with the news earlier in the week that BC Partners, which had been on board for the circuit’s relaunch following the demise of LIV Golf 1.0, had pulled out its proposed $300m investment.
As a result, months of speculation over who might line up in a new-look LIV Golf proved irrelevant, with confirmation that the circuit was to wind down after five seasons.
In the aftermath of that development, Bland, who joined LIV Golf when it launched in 2022, has admitted that the end of the road for the League had come as a shock.
Speaking exclusively to The Scotsman's Martin Dempster, Bland said: “Yeah, I was surprised. I read it for the first time yesterday on social media when I woke up.
Richard Bland joined the circuit in 2022
"Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that. Everything I was aware of was positive and it looked like it was going to move forward. So, yeah, to wake up to that was not what I was expecting."
In the weeks leading up to the announcement, the launch of LIV Golf 2.0 appeared to be firmly on track with the appointment of former TaylorMade CEO Mark King as Senior Advisor in late October.
Meanwhile, along with Bland, four other players publicly committed to sticking around, with a further 15 said to be "tentatively" in, though it was not confirmed who they were.
Bland also revealed that players had been told in January that LIV Golf would be fully funded until 2032, making the circuit's demise all the more unexpected.
As Bland suggested in October, the end of LIV Golf now leaves him with limited options for next season.
The Englishman, who won the 2021 Betfred British Masters, revealed he is unlikely to follow in the footsteps of other LIV Golfers, including Sergio Garcia, and resume his career on the DP World Tour.
Bland hinted he could play on the European Legends Tour and the Asian Tour, before adding: “I’ve kind of closed the book on the DP World Tour and that’s fine, I’ve dealt with that. I’ve got no desire to go back there and play full time.”
