Journeyman Richard Bland makes a splash with backing for LIV rebels

W e really are encountering the wackiest of times when an acerbic bulletin from Richard Bland can turn heads. Bland was the epitome of a journeyman before shooting to fame with victory on his 478th start on the DP World Tour. A Sky Sports documentary was even released in celebration of his British Masters triumph.

Within the blink of an eye Bland, now 50, had joined the LIV circuit on the apparently palatable basis that this represented an unmissable opportunity for a man of his age to pick up life-changing cash. The emotion associated with “478” had been usurped by commerce.

Bland had not left a strong enough mark on his sport for anybody – besides those documentary makers, presumably – to care deeply about his dash for the petroleum pound. Yet the man himself appears vexed by the state of his previous domain. Bland went on social media to berate the strategic alliance that exists between the DP World and PGA Tours after the latter detailed plans for limited field, no-cut events in 2024. Up popped Hudson Swafford – another LIV man whom even seasoned fans may struggle to pick out from a lineup – to back up the suddenly loquacious Bland.

Perhaps, given time served, Bland really is concerned about the state of his home tour. Yet it is increasingly apparent that LIV converts from Europe are trying to pick holes in the alliance as a way to publicly justify their pursuit of Saudi Arabian dollars. “We were the smart ones, all you losers should have read the signs,” is the underlying message. It was even blunter than that during Sergio García’s expletive-laden rant at fellow players in a locker room in Germany last summer.

The PGA Tour’s throwing of kitchen sinks at their leading men has been essential. Without that, the risk