Richard Bland says player support is crucial to LIV Golf relaunch

Richard Bland says player commitments will determine whether a proposed new version of LIV Golf goes ahead, despite his understanding that funding is in place. Speaking to BBC South Today, the 53-year-old said members still lacked clarity about the competition's future and cautioned that financial backing alone would not guarantee its survival.

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BBC Sport reported that LIV filed for bankruptcy protection in early September, with at least $45m owed to players. That followed the April news that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund would withdraw its multibillion-dollar backing at the end of the season. In August, the tour announced an unnamed lead investor for a proposed 2027 competition, commonly described as LIV 2.0.

Bland said the next stage would depend on resolving matters relating to the existing league and establishing who would sign up for its successor. He described the funding as available but said there was no guarantee of a continuation without sufficient player support. His comments did not establish which golfers had committed to the proposed competition or settle the uncertainty surrounding its launch.

The Englishman also described a sharp reversal in the assurances players had received earlier in the year. According to Bland, they were told at a meeting in Riyadh around late January that the league would be financed through 2032. He attributed that message to PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and said players had left feeling optimistic before the subsequent news around the event in Mexico.

Bland joined LIV in 2022, played in its opening London event and represented Martin Kaymer's Cleeks GC. He told the BBC that reports of earnings exceeding $20m were broadly accurate. Explaining his original decision, he said the opportunity offered substantially greater prize money and financial security for his family. He also acknowledged that his position left him less exposed than some younger players if the replacement league failed to materialise.

A return to the DP World Tour is next on Bland's schedule. BBC Sport reported that he would make his first start on that circuit since 2023 at Thursday's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland. His career includes the 2021 British Masters title at the Belfry, which made him the European Tour's oldest first-time winner, and victory on his senior debut at the 2024 Senior PGA Championship.