Suddenly senior star Richard Bland finds himself in a strange position as a LIV golfer, unable to compete in the Senior British Open

SOTOGRANDE, Spain — A conversation with Richard Bland at Real Club Valderrama on Wednesday ahead of the LIV Golf Andalusia revealed a twist in one of professional golf’s feel-good stories.

The “Blandemonium,” as fans call it, has been a mouth-cleansing presence during three divisive years in professional golf. The fans first attracted attention in 2021, but at the age of 48, the brand became the oldest golf course. In the same year, he won the first DP World Tour Tournament in the British Masters and Toripa Ins, and won the United States opening within two years. 。

This year, he played a golf Liv at the age of 51, and has gained good results on major winners and players aged 20 to 30 years old, acquiring PGA seniors and American seniors. It was an emotional and inspirational moment for golf fans to see the pro playing his best golf at age 50 and dedicating all of his success to his cancer-stricken brother, Heath.

“Pros don’t usually win their first DP World in their 478th start,” Brand told Golf Digest at the old Ryder Cup site in Valderrama. “I’ve got a lot of messages [text and social media DMs] that [my story] has inspired a lot of people in whatever path they were on. Some people were struggling with something and because they’d watched me play, they said, ‘I\’m going to push through it.’”

After winning the Senior U.S. Open at Newport Country Club in a playoff earlier this month, it was thought that Bland had an opportunity to win what some on social media dubbed the “Bland Slam”—the Senior PGA, Senior U.S. Open and Senior Open Championship. Richard Bland competes in the second round of the LIV golf tournament in Nashville.

But here’s where things get complicated. A Brand Slam would be impossible. Brand is one of several DP World Tour pros who failed to pay Eurozone fines owed after every LIV golf event they played in conflicted with a DP World tournament. “LIV didn’t pay my fine and I didn’t want them to pay it either, because I had no intention of returning to the DP World Tour, so it didn’t make sense,” Brand said.

The DP World Tour co-hosts the Senior Open Championship with the R&A and follows a policy that DP World Tour members who play for LIV and have outstanding fines “will not be allowed to participate in tournaments until they are paid.” That includes Brand.

The golfers who have paid all of their fines include Patrick Reed and Thomas Pieters, who both finished in the top 13 at the BMW International Open in Munich last week. The DP World Tour has consistently fined LIV players, with penalties weighted based on whether each LIV event is held in the same region and time zone as a DP World event, and the fines are even higher when a LIV event competes against a flagship DP World Tour event such as the Rolex Series. But Brand pointed to the open status of the senior links majors to explain why they should be able to be played regardless of fines.

“The R&A had to stand up to the DP World Tour and say, ‘Look, this is an open event, not a closed event,'” Brand said.

It’s a moot point, though, given the Senior Open Championship clashes with LIV Golf U.K. at the JCB course in the Midlands.

“My priorities are there, and even if [I could] go play [with a tournament release from LIV Golf], I don\’t know. I’ll have to think about it,” he said.

However, Bland can’t help but dream of a third major senior victory, especially with the July 25-28 tournament taking place at Carnoustie. “It\’s a shame because Carnoustie is one of my favorite courses, in my top five ever,” he said. “I played the Dunhill Links Championship there many times, so I would actually probably really fancy my chances.”

Instead, Bland will focus on golf outside the majors. This likely also applies to LIV Golf, given that the annual PGA Tour Champions exemption given to the winner of the senior tournament was not extended due to the brand’s membership in LIV Golf, and the PGA Tour has banned participants in LIV. At LIV, Brand, who plays for two-time major winner Martin Kaymer’s Creeks GC team, is 25th in the LIV individual points standings with four tournaments remaining in the season. The top 24 players will receive an automatic invitation to return to LIV next season. The age limit is between 25 and 44, and players whose contracts expire become free agents.

“Clix asked to re-sign during the transfer window, but he didn’t get the green light, so as things stand we have to get into the top 24,” he declared. “I’m pretty confident playing for the Cliques next year, but I have to play as good a golfer as before.”

Fans would definitely love to see this because no one wants a good story to end.