Greenbrier Recap: Bland falls short of 'career-defining' victory
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. – Midway through Sunday's final round at LIV Golf Greenbrier, it seemed that Cleeks GC's Richard Bland was on track to clinch what he had already viewed as a "career-defining" victory.
After parring his first eight holes on the Old White course, the 51-year-old Englishman had gone into overdrive. He birdied the ninth, 10th and 11th before sinking a 42-foot eagle putt at the par-5 12th to move one stroke clear of the field at 17-under.
However, he was unable to maintain that magical momentum and parred the next four holes before finishing birdie-bogey. A closing 5-under 65 earned him 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.
The ultra-consistent Bland has enjoyed a hugely successful 2024 campaign, highlighted by Cleeks GC's team victory in Houston and his individual wins at the Senior PGA Championship and Senior U.S. Open Championship – after his first two starts in the over-50 ranks.
Asked after he had opened with successive 64s at the Greenbrier what a first LIV Golf individual title would mean to him, he replied: "I think you would have to put it above everything, personally, just because of the standard of the players that you're playing against.
"Obviously I don't mean that in any way to play down a senior major. Obviously, that's still a great achievement. But to look at the leaderboard that's in front of you, it's pretty stacked. If I came out on top, that would be, for me, career-defining."
Alas, for Bland, it was not to be. Koepka ended up winning a record fifth individual LIV Golf title after edging out twice major champion Rahm on the first playoff hole, and Bland had to settle for joint fourth.
Collectively, it was a disappointing week for the all-European Cleeks who followed their 11th-place finish at last month's LIV Golf UK with 12th spot at the Greenbrier. While Bland thrived in the low-scoring conditions on the Old White course due to his pinpoint game from tee to green, his team mates failed to take advantage.
Captain Martin Kaymer of Germany and Poland's Adrian Meronk both signed off with 68s on Sunday to share 42nd place at 4-under while Finland's Kalle Samooja ended a frustrating week second-last on the individual leaderboard after returning a 72.
Certainly not what the Cleeks had been hoping for after they had finished second, first, T-6 and T-6 in their four starts prior to LIV Golf UK.
"It's just a question of everything coming together for all three rounds," said Bland, who occupies 19th place in the season-long individual standings and has all but secured his place in the Lock Zone - among the top 24 players who are guaranteed spots for the 2025 LIV Golf League season.
"So often we seem to have one day where we're maybe not at the races. At the end of the day, everybody on our team is out there giving it 100 percent ... we're a good team and I think there's definitely more to come."
The Cleeks are currently eighth in the team standings - 82.5 points outside third place, which is the final seed to earn a first-round bye for the season-ending Team Championship to be played at Maridoe Golf Club in Texas from September 20-22.