Chicago Preview: Cleeks again look to Bland for inspiration in last two events of 2024
BOLINGBROOK, Illinois – As Cleeks GC prepares for this week's LIV Golf Chicago, the all-European combination will again be looking to gain inspiration from the ultra-consistent Richard Bland after a surprising slump in team form over their last two events.
Midway through this 2024 season, the Cleeks had hit their collective stride and they strung together a hugely impressive run of second, first, joint sixth and joint sixth in four consecutive starts.
Just when it seemed they might be on track to secure one of the three coveted byes for the season-ending Team Championship - to be played at Maridoe Golf Club in Texas next week - they slipped to 11th place at LIV Golf UK and then fared even worse last month with a 12th spot at the Greenbrier.
Throughout that sequence, though, Englishman Bland was a shining light. Midway through the final round at LIV Golf Greenbrier, he was in position to win the tournament before eventually having to settle for a share of fourth place at 17-under - two shots outside a two-man playoff for the title, which Smash GC's Brooks Koepka won after defeating Legion XIII's Jon Rahm at the first playoff hole.
Nonetheless, it was Bland's best LIV Golf finish during a hugely successful 2024 campaign, highlighted by Cleeks GC's team victory in Houston and his individual wins at the Senior PGA Championship and the Senior U.S. Open Championship – after his first two starts in the over-50 ranks.
"Richard has brought a lot of positivity to the team and to himself with his attitude and the way he is playing golf at the moment," Cleeks captain Martin Kaymer said while he and his team prepared for Friday's opening round at Bolingbrook Golf Club.
"He has gained a lot of confidence, and in the team environment, we do feel that confidence that comes from him. Also, when we play practice rounds, it's nice to watch him. You want to keep up with him. The whole team is feeding off him at the moment. He has had a great impact on our year, and he has also had a good personal year out here at LIV. He's in the top 20 - a great effort by him this season."
The 51-year-old Bland ranks third in the league this season for greens in regulation (73.46 percent) and 10th in driving accuracy (63.1 percent). With the season-long Individual Championship to be decided in Chicago this week, he sits 19th in the standings and is comfortably inside the Lock Zone.
Barring an unlikely finish at Bolingbrook, players ranked 16th through 20th are likely to remain in the top 24 Lock Zone and earn a spot in the 2025 LIV Golf League.
Less certain, however, are the Cleeks' prospects for the season-ending Team Championship. They currently sit eighth in the season-long standings and have been eliminated from bye consideration for next week. Only the top three teams in the final standings after Chicago will earn first-round byes for Dallas, and two of those byes have already been earned by Crushers GC and Legion XIII.
Kaymer feels a little guilty that his own form in recent weeks has cost the Cleeks dearly during their late-season push.
"I haven't really delivered what I can," said the 39-year-old German, whose 2023 LIV Golf campaign was negatively impacted by pre-season wrist surgery. "Richard, Adrian (Meronk) and sometimes even Kalle (Samooja), they have delivered what they're supposed to do. But I haven't really been the captain in terms of playing the way I wanted to be.
"I think our disappointing results in the last two events came down to my play because the others did what they were supposed to do and I didn't really deliver what I can. I was expecting a little bit more out of this season but obviously when you come back from injury, it takes a little bit longer than you think. As an athlete, you would like to have the success immediately, and that didn't happen for me this year."
However, Kaymer does have good feelings about this week's test at Bolingbrook - a par-70 layout with elevated tees, rolling fairways and seven lakes scattered across the property.
"It's a very American-like golf course with fairly wide fairways and smallish greens," he said. "The surface is fantastic. There are a lot of birdie opportunities, so you need to do well on the greens in order to make an impact on the weekend. But I do think we have the capacity and the playing ability to do well."