BEDMINSTER RECAP: BLAND AND MCDOWELL PROSPER; CLEEKS FINISH NINTH

The straight-hitting Bland birdied four of his last seven holes to surge up the leaderboard into solo 11th place, at even par for the tournament. It was his third points finish in as many starts, and it lifted him into 22nd spot in the season-long race for playing privileges for next year.

Player status for the 2024 LIV Golf League will be decided at the end of the regular season, with the top 24 in points guaranteed spots, and Bland now occupies 22nd spot.

Ulsterman Graeme McDowell, like Bland known for his accuracy off the tee, finished in 12th place on the individual leaderboard. He birdied his final hole, the par-five 15th, to post an even-par total but, unlike Bland, he is well outside the top 24 in the points race and sits in 39th spot.

As a team, the Cleeks wound up ninth at LIV Golf Bedminster, but they are out of the running in the hunt for first-round byes at the season-ending Team Championship in Miami. With two tournaments left in the regular season, just five teams have a mathematical spot of becoming one of the top four seeds: 4Aces GC, Torque GC, Stinger GC, Crushers GC and RangeGoats GC. Cleek GC occupies the bottom 12th spot in the team standings.

Here's a recap of Cleeks GC's performance at LIV Golf Bedminster:

RICHARD BLAND (Even, 11th place)

Fresh from a 3rd-place finish in Greenbrier to secure his first podium result this season, Bland started out with a 2-over 73 at Trump National Bedminster before carding a 70 in the second round that left him tied for 19th at 1-over.

In the final round, he birdied three of his last four holes en route to a 70 and an even-par total of 213. He ended the week ranked tied for third in fairways hit, with 31, and tied for 20th in total birdies, with nine.

GRAEME MCDOWELL (Even, 12th place)

With just three tournaments left in the regular season before players finishing 45th or lower in the individual standings are relegated out of the league, McDowell was barely safe when he arrived in Bedminster occupying 42nd spot.

After opening with a 1-over 72, the 44-year-old Ulsterman steadily worked his way up the leaderboard with consecutive rounds of 71 and 70 to climb into 12th place on the individual leaderboard, his highest finish this year in 11 starts. However, the net result in the season-long points standings was negligible for him and McDowell currently occupies 39th place.

BERND WIESBERGER (+3, 29th place)

Fresh from producing his second points finish of the season with 13th place in Greenbrier, Wiesberger maintained that form as he fired an opening 2-under 69 at Trump National Bedminster. He carded a total of four birdies on day one and ranked tied for second in fairways hit with 12 out of 14.

However, the 37-year-old Austrian lost some ground on day two when he carded a rollercoaster 73 that included five birdies, seven bogeys and a total of only 27 putts - ranking him tied for fifth in this category for the round. A closing 74 dropped him into 29th place on the individual leaderboard.

MARTIN KAYMER (+17, 47th place)

Kaymer was in a precarious position with just three regular-season tournaments left before players finishing 45th or lower are relegated out of the LIV Golf League. The 38-year-old from Dusseldorf occupied 49th spot in the individual standings heading into Trump National Bedminster where he struggled to an 11-over 82 in the first round.

Kaymer improved significantly on day two with a 73, but that still left him in a tie for bottom spot in the 48-player field at 13-over. A closing 75 did not exactly help and Kaymer ended his week at Trump National Bedminster still occupying 49th spot in the season-long individual standings.

STAT REVIEW

Field ranking in parentheses

Fairways Hit

Bland – 31 (T3)

McDowell – 27 (T22)

Wiesberger – 24 (T34)

Kaymer – 16 (48)

Driving Distance Avg.

Bland – 291.2 (T36)

McDowell – 285.4 (46)

Wiesberger – 290.4 (38)

Kaymer – 285.6 (40)

Greens in Regulation

Bland – 36 (T21)

McDowell – 35 (T30)

Wiesberger – 34 (T33)

Kaymer – 31 (T40)

Total Putts

Bland – 90 (T24)

McDowell – 86 (T9)

Wiesberger – 88 (T15)

Kaymer – 92 (T33)

Total Birdies

Bland – 9 (T20)

McDowell – 11 (T7)

Wiesberger – 11 (T7)

Kaymer – 5 (T45)