“I wasn’t given a single dollar when I signed” - Richard Bland says he wasn’t paid to join LIV Golf League

Richard Bland has claimed that he wasn't paid to join LIV Golf League. The 51-year-old LIV golfer recently emerged victorious in the 2024 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores Resort. The tournament was held from May 23 to 26, 2024 in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

Richard Bland joined LIV Golf in 2022 and has been playing for the Cleeks GC since. Golfers who joined LIV were paid millions to join the breakaway tour. In contrast, Bland claimed in an interview with The Times of London that he received no money. He said:

"I didn’t take the money. I wasn’t given a single dollar when I signed. I was given the opportunity to play and I’ve had to earn my place every single year."

Bland said that he joined LIV Golf purely for money. He has earned $10.4 million after joining the LIV, with $2 million this year so far. Bland further said that he'd retire from golf if he lost his spot on LIV. Bland said:

"Whenever I lose my spot on LIV, I think that will be me done, regardless of how I’m playing. I’ve got maybe another 18 months left and then I’ll cross that bridge. I’m in a fortunate position where I can enjoy my life.

"I love what I do, I’ll never stop playing golf, but I’ve travelled the world without seeing an awful lot of it. I’d like to do that while I’m still fit and able, I’d like to go on golf trips with friends and just have fun without competing."

Richard Bland has seen a surge in his performance in the latter part of his career. His best finish in LIV Golf 2022 season came at Bangkok where he finished fourth. In 2023, his best performance was when he finished third at the LIV Golf Greenbrier.

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A look at Richard Bland's performances in 2024

Richard Bland has played consistently throughout the 2024 season. He has had seven top-25 finishes in the eight starts this season.

The LIV golfer started with a T11 finish at LIV Golf Mayakoba and a T15 finish at LIV Golf Las Vegas. His best performance on the circuit came at LIV Golf Hong Kong, where he finished at T8. He is currently sitting at the 25th position in this season's overall LIV Golf rankings, with seven events to go.

Richard Bland won the recently concluded 2024 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship on PGA Tour Champions over Richard Green by three strokes.

Let's take a look at Richard Bland's performances in the 2024 season:

2024 LIV Tournaments

• LIV Golf Mayakoba: T11 (66-74-67, 207, -6)
• LIV Golf Las Vegas: T15 (69-65-71, 205, -5)
• LIV Golf Jeddah: T31 (68-69-70, 207, -3)
• LIV Golf Hong Kong: T8 (66-68-66, 200, -10)
• LIV Golf Miami: T14 (71-67-73, 211, -5)
• LIV Golf Adelaide: T22 (68-68-69, 205, -11)
• LIV Golf Singapore: T22 (70-68-69, 207, -6)

2024 PGA TOUR Champions Tournaments

• KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship: 1 (64-66-74-63, 267, -17)

Richard Bland would next play at the LIV Golf Houston event from June 7 to 9 at the Golf Club of Houston.