Richard Bland, a former long-time member of the DP World Tour, has openly criticized the partnership between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. This alliance, which was established in November 2020 by former European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley, has not sat well with Bland. During a press conference before the Asian Tour’s International Series – England event at Foxhills Country Club near London, Bland, who recently won the Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Senior Open, voiced his strong disapproval.
Bland, who achieved his first European/DP World Tour win after 478 attempts before joining LIV Golf, criticized the annual agreement that grants the top 10 players on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai points list exemption to compete on the PGA Tour, provided they don’t already hold PGA Tour cards. He argued that the PGA Tour’s interest in the DP World Tour is minimal, stating that the deal primarily benefits the PGA Tour by attracting the best DP World Tour players to compete in the U.S. Bland also expressed regret that the DP World Tour did not align with the Saudis instead.
Due to Bland’s association with LIV Golf, he is now ineligible to participate in the PGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions, despite qualifying for a tour card with his recent victories in senior majors. Bland also criticized the changes to the European Ryder Cup qualifying system, which now heavily favors performances in major championships and elite PGA Tour events. He believes this change marginalizes DP World Tour players and makes it almost impossible for them to qualify for the Ryder Cup.
Bland continued his criticism by pointing out the exclusion of New Zealander Ryan Fox, who was second on the DP World Tour two years ago, from the 2022 International Presidents Cup team because he was not a PGA Tour member at the time. Bland argued that this exclusion, along with the changes to the Ryder Cup qualification, indicates that both competitions are becoming increasingly dominated by the PGA Tour, to the detriment of DP World Tour players.