2022 Valero Texas Open: Top 10 power rankings at TPC San Antonio
It’s do-or-die time for Richard Bland.
That is if he wants to play in the Masters’ for the first time. Time’s running out at age 49, but he’s as close as he’s ever gotten.
The Englishman checks in at No. 53 in the world, just missing out on the top 50 threshold after last week’s WGC-Dell Match Play to make the field for Augusta National.
Bland made an inspiring run to the round of 16 at his debut in that event, but he needed to make it at least one round further to earn enough Official World Golf Ranking points.
He tied Bryson DeChambeau and beat Lee Westwood and Talor Gooch in group play before losing 3&1 to eventual fourth-place finisher, Dustin Johnson, in the first knockout round.
In his post-round interview, he expressed both pride and remorse and hoped the green jackets would look upon him kindly to perhaps extend a special invitation. I wouldn’t hold my breath on that if I were Blandy, but he’s not without hope.
A win at this week’s Valero Texas Open would earn him a Masters’ invite.
Bland has never won a PGA Tour title nor has he played this tournament.
He hopes to shove all that aside and rely on his great form over the last year. Bland won his first European Tour (now DP World Tour) event in May 2021 at the Betfred British Masters.
That was one of eight top-10s on that circuit. He nearly won again in 2022, taking solo second at the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic in a playoff loss to Viktor Hovland. Bland still finished ahead of a slew of big names, including Rory McIlroy in third and Tyrrell Hatton, Adam Scott, and Sergio Garcia further down the board.
Bland is third in the DP World Tour standings. Last season, he was 18th in driving accuracy (60.8%) and will need to be sharp off the tee to hang in at a lengthy TPC San Antonio.
He was also 25th in greens in regulation (70.32%).
Even across the pond, Bland will surely receive some fan support this week as he tries to take advantage of his final shot to compete in the first major championship of 2022.
Must Read. If the WGC-Dell Match Play were medal play: Day 2. light