"I’m banned pretty much everywhere" - Richard Bland gets candid after securing another LIV Golf contract

Richard Bland opened up about his plans to play on the LIV Golf after securing one more year’s contract on the circuit. The English golfer will be returning to compete in the Saudi league in 2026.

During the offseason, in an exclusive interview with Today’s Michael Catling, he talked about his game, his journey on the LIV Golf, and his retirement plans. Bland said that he is not planning to retire, but also mentioned that he might not be “playing competitively five years from now.” He said:

"I want to retire from the game. I don’t want the game to retire me. I’m hoping I’m good for next year. And as long as I feel like I’m competitive, I’ll keep playing and hopefully that is with LIV. Right now, I don’t actually have anywhere else to play. I’m banned pretty much everywhere else bar LIV! But do I see myself playing competitively five years from now? No, I don’t."

Richard Bland further explained his situation and said that he can't play on the Legends Tour in Europe as the DP World Tour has imposed fines on LIV golfers, and players can only compete on the circuit after paying them. He also does not have an exemption to compete on the PGA Tour Champions despite winning two senior major championships last year.

"I can’t play the Legends Tour in Europe because of the money that I owe in fines, which I’m not going to pay. But speaking to guys that I know and grew up playing with, that tour is quite tough," he said. "You play a lot of pro-ams and while I don’t want this to come across the wrong way, I don’t particularly want to go back to playing tournaments that are worth €300,000. I’m not going to get excited by that. I didn’t get any exemption from the PGA Tour [Champions] for my two senior majors, so I have no status out there," he added.

Richard Bland was remarkable in the last season not only on the LIV Golf but also on the senior majors. He won the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship by three strokes over Richard Green and then defeated Hiroyuki Fujita in a playoff to win the U.S. Senior Open.

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Richard Bland opens up about how his life changed after joining LIV Golf

Richard Bland joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series in its inaugural season back in 2022. He is gearing up for his fifth consecutive season on the circuit. The English golfer was asked how his life changed after joining the league. In response, he said:

"It hasn’t really. I’ve done quite well on LIV, but it hasn’t changed who I am. All it’s done is afford me the chance to call it quits on my terms. I haven’t got to worry too much about my future now. I don’t need to go and do something else [if this all fails]. So in that respect, it has changed. I can give back to my family more and help them. But how I live day to day, it hasn’t changed anything at all."

In the interview, Richard Bland revealed that he did not sign any multi-year deal with LIV Golf. He “always” earns his place on the circuit season after season. He finished in 19th position in the regular season last year and secured his spot for the 2025 season. This year, he finished in 27th place.

Bland started the 2025 LIV Golf season in Riyadh and tied for 40th place. He then played in Adelaide and recorded a solo fifth-place finish. Some of his notable finishes from this season are T7 in Korda, T10 in Chicago, and T15 in Andalucia.

Edited by Ankita Yadav