Richard Bland says LIV restart depends on player backing despite funding assurances

Richard Bland says a proposed successor to LIV Golf still needs players to commit before its future can be assured, despite his understanding that funding is in place. Speaking to BBC South Today, the English golfer said members remained uncertain about how the new competition would operate.

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

Bland said the existing league's affairs first needed to be resolved, after which the willingness of players to sign up would be decisive. He did not present the new competition as guaranteed. His account distinguished the availability of funding from the separate question of whether enough players would support the proposed league.

The 53-year-old also described the contrast between assurances players received earlier this year and the subsequent withdrawal of Saudi backing. According to Bland, players were told at a meeting in Riyadh around late January that funding would continue through 2032. He attributed that assurance to PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. Bland said the later developments around an event in Mexico had surprised players, while staff and chief executive Scott O'Neil faced a difficult task finding a way forward.

Bland joined LIV in 2022, played in its opening event in London and represented Martin Kaymer's Cleeks GC. He told the BBC that reports putting his earnings from the circuit above $20m were broadly accurate. Explaining his decision to join at 49, he cited the opportunity to earn substantially more and provide financial security for his family. He said that security left him less exposed to the uncertainty than some younger players.

His next appearance will be at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland on Thursday, his first DP World Tour start since 2023. Bland won the British Masters at the Belfry in 2021, becoming the European Tour's oldest first-time winner, and claimed the 2024 Senior PGA Championship on his senior debut.