LIV's future now down to player support - Bland

LIV golfer Richard Bland has said the future of the league will rely on "player support" with members still in the dark as to what will happen going forward.

In early September LIV filed for bankruptcy protection with at least $45m (£33m) owed to players.

This followed news in April that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) would end its multibillion dollar backing of the tour at the end of the season, leaving the future of the series in doubt.

In August, the tour announced it had secured an unnamed lead investor to keep the competition running in 2027, a proposal widely branded as 'LIV 2.0'.

Southampton-based Bland from Southampton joined in 2022 and admitted he is yet to definitively know what will happen going forward.

"The funding is all there," he told BBC South Today.

"Once everything does get sorted out with LIV 1.0 it's then down to player support and who is going to sign up for the new league.

"Even though the funding is there, theoretically there's no guarantee that LIV 2.0 will continue if they don't have the player support."

Since entering the sport in 2021, LIV has signed some of the biggest names in golf, with Bryson Dechambeau and John Rahm among the notable figures to leave the PGA Tour for the lucrative venture.

According to Bland, a meeting took place at the start of the year where players were told that tour would be financially backed for the next six years.

But in April around an event in Mexico, reports started to emerge that this would not be the case as PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan stepped down from the board.

"We were told in Riyadh in around late January that the league was going to be funded through to 2032," Bland added.

"That was from Yasir as well, so from the horse's mouth so to speak.

"Everyone came away from that player meeting really positive and excited for the future, then four months later in Mexico to find out that the tour was going to get wrapped up, a lot of guys couldn't believe it.

"It's very sad and it's been a very difficult journey to navigate, more so for staff and Scott [O'Neil, LIV CEO] to forge a pathway forward, we're still a bit in the dark with how it's going to be going forward."

Bland became the oldest first-time winner in European Tour history when he won the British Masters at the Belfry in 2021.

The now 53-year-old also claimed the 2024 Senior PGA Championship in what was his first start in a senior event.

Throughout his time on LIV, Bland admitted that reports he had earned over $20m while on the tour were "somewhere in the right ballpark".

He was one of the first to join the tour and featured in their first event which took place in London, going on to represent Martin Kaymer's Cleeks GC.

"At 49 years old, when the opportunity came along, you would have been mad to not take it," he added.

"I was living comfortably on DP World but I was given the chance to play for seven to eight times more money, some people won't agree with that and that's absolutely fine.

"That decision was mine and one that I made for my family and my security going forward, in my eyes it was a no-brainer.

"I'm now in the fortunate position now where if LIV 2.0 doesn't come about then it doesn't affect me as much as it probably does some of the younger players."

With the future of LIV golf still uncertain, some of the stars of the league have recently been competing in DP World Tour events in Europe.

John Rahm, Joaquin Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton were at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth two weeks ago, also competing in the Irish Open the week prior.

Bland will continue that trend as he makes his first DP World Tour start since 2023 on Thursday in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.