LIV Golf’s Richard Bland penalized at Valderrama for slow-play: Here’s how long he took to play the shot
Richard Bland was recently penalized for his slow play at Real Golf Club Valderrama in the LIV Golf Andalucia event. He took 84 seconds in the second round of the event to hit the tee shot at the par 3 15th. Officials first warned Bland's group before handing him a one-stroke penalty.
As per Golf.com's report, a LIV Official explained the entire incident of slow play. He shared that the group was first warned after their 4th hole that they were behind the par time. He said,
"In round two, the group of Dean Burmester, Sergio Garcia and Richard Bland were officially warned by a rules official after their 4th hole of the day (hole 8) where the group was out of position on the golf course as well as behind in relation to time par."
The official stated that the group had already failed to complete their play under the par time after their day's ninth hole. He said,
"After their 9th hole of the day (hole 13) the group, who had further lost position on the course, was officially timed by a rules official. In accordance with the LIV Golf League Pace of Play Policy"
According to the LIV Golf League Pace of Play Rule, a player has to play the stroke in a span of 40 seconds and will receive an additional 10 seconds time, in case of playing the first stroke of the group.
The LIV official went on to explain how Richard Bland, who was first to play the stroke from the group, took 84 seconds to tee off, landing him a one-stroke penalty.
This is not the first slow-play incident in the 2023 golf season. In April 2023, at the Augusta Masters, another LIV Golfer Brooks Koepka was also heavily criticized for slow play. PGA Tour's Patrick Cantlay also frustrated fans and fellow golfers with his slow play at the 2023 RBC Heritage Tournament.
A look at Richard Bland's performance in the LIV Golf League
English professional golfer Richard Bland has been associated with the LIV Golf League since its inception in 2022. He has played in 16 events so far and has never returned home as an individual winner yet.
In the 2022 season, Bland played in seven events and had only one Top 10 finish. His best performance came at the Bangkok event, where he finished T3, also his best performance at the league.
Here are the table standings of Richard Bland across all the events in the League so far:
2023
- LIV Golf Invitational DC - T23
- LIV Golf Invitational Tulsa - T23
- LIV Golf Invitational Singapore - T36
- LIV Golf Invitational Adelaide -T32
- LIV Golf Invitational Orlando - T11
- LIV Golf Invitational Tucson - T24
- LIV Golf Invitational Mayakoba - T27
2022
- LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah - T25
- LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok - T3
- LIV Golf Invitational Chicago - T18
- LIV Golf Invitational Boston - T17
- LIV Golf Invitational Bedminster - T40
- LIV Golf Invitational Portland - T27
- LIV Golf Invitational London - T17
Richard Bland is currently at the Real Golf Club Valderrama for the LIV Golf Andalucia event. He is placed at the T21 rank on the points table after the second round of the play.