Wikipedia

John Bland (golfer)

John Louis Bland (22 September 1945 – 9 May 2023) was a South African professional golfer who won more than thirty professional tournaments around the world.

John Bland
Bland at the 2010 Dutch Senior Open
Personal information
Full nameJohn Louis Bland
Born(1945-09-22)22 September 1945
Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Died9 May 2023(2023-05-09) (aged 77)
George, Western Cape, South Africa
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb; 11.5 st)
Sporting nationality South Africa
Career
Turned professional1969
Former tour(s)European Tour
Sunshine Tour
Champions Tour
European Senior Tour
Professional wins36
Highest ranking49 (28 April 1991)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour2
Sunshine Tour19
Challenge Tour1
PGA Tour Champions5
European Senior Tour3
Other6
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT16: 1980
Achievements and awards
Southern Africa Tour
Order of Merit winner		1977–78, 1987–88,
1989–90, 1990–91
Senior PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year		1996

Early life and career edit

Bland was born in Johannesburg, Union of South Africa. Turning professional in 1969, he was a leading player on the Southern African Tour for over twenty years. He spent the northern summers playing on the European Tour, where he won twice. He was a more consistent contender than this tally might suggest, as he finished in the top-20 on the Order of Merit six times.

After reaching the age of fifty in 1995, Bland played mainly on the United States-based Champions Tour. He won five tournaments on the tour, including four in 1996, when he finished third on the money list. He has also won three tournaments on the European Senior Tour.

Death edit

Bland died after battling cancer in George, Western Cape, South Africa, on 9 May 2023, at the age of 77.[2][3]

Professional wins (36) edit

European Tour wins (2) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 21 Aug 1983 Benson & Hedges International Open −15 (68-70-67-68=273) 1 stroke   Bernhard Langer
2 20 Apr 1986 Suze Open −12 (68-71-70-67=276) 4 strokes   Seve Ballesteros

Southern Africa Tour wins (19) edit

Legend
Tour Championships (2)
Other Southern Africa Tour (17)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 22 Oct 1977 Lexington PGA Championship −5 (68-67-70-70=275) 2 strokes   Gary Player
2 29 Oct 1977 Victoria Falls Classic −9 (70-69-72-72=283) 3 strokes   John Fourie
3 3 Dec 1977 Holiday Inns Invitational −23 (67-66-65-67=265) 4 strokes   Bobby Cole
4 7 Feb 1979 Holiday Inns Open (2) −21 (66-69-65-67=267) Playoff   Andries Oosthuizen
5 17 Jan 1981 Sigma Series 2 −15 (71-65-70-67=273) 3 strokes   Nick Price
6 24 Jan 1981 Sigma Series 3 −15 (71-66-66-70=273) 1 stroke   Tienie Britz,   Nick Price
7 26 Feb 1983 Holiday Inns Pro-Am (3) −17 (68-65-68-70=271) 2 strokes   Teddy Webber
8 5 Mar 1983 Kodak Golf Classic −17 (65-67-70-69=271) Playoff   David Sann
9 22 Dec 1984 Goodyear Classic −11 (68-69-72-68=277) Playoff   Nick Price
10 20 Dec 1987 Goodyear Classic (2) −3 (71-69-72-69=281) 2 strokes   Mark Wiltshire
11 13 Mar 1988 Trustbank Tournament of Champions −20 (67-66-67-68=268) 3 strokes   Philip Jonas,   Mark McNulty
12 26 Nov 1988 Safmarine South African Masters −13 (69-70-63-73=275) 3 strokes   Tony Johnstone
13 7 Jan 1989 Dewar's White Label Trophy −15 (70-66-71-66=273) 1 stroke   Tony Johnstone
14 3 Mar 1990 Dewar's White Label Trophy (2) −14 (64-70-71-69=274) 1 stroke   Jay Townsend
15 17 Nov 1990 Minolta Copiers Match Play −2 (70) 5 strokes   Hugh Baiocchi
16 15 Dec 1990 Bloemfontein Classic −15 (65-67-73-68=273) 6 strokes   Hugh Baiocchi
17 12 Jan 1991 Palabora Classic −10 (70-69-68-71=278) 1 stroke   Mark Wiltshire
18 23 Feb 1991 Bell's Cup −11 (68-67-71-71=277) 1 stroke   Retief Goosen
19 2 Mar 1991 Trustbank Tournament of Champions (2) −19 (62-71-70-66=269) 7 strokes   Justin Hobday

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (3–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1979 Holiday Inns Open   Andries Oosthuizen Won with par on fifth extra hole
2 1981 Datsun South African Open   Warren Humphreys,   Gary Player Player won with birdie on third extra hole after 18-hole playoff;
Player: −2 (70),
Bland: −2 (70),
Humphreys: E (72)
3 1983 Kodak Golf Classic   David Sann Won with par on third extra hole
4 1984 Goodyear Classic   Nick Price Won with birdie on first extra hole

Challenge Tour wins (1) edit

Other wins (2) edit

Senior PGA Tour wins (5) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 22 Oct 1995 Ralphs Senior Classic −12 (69-67-65=201) 1 stroke   Jim Colbert
2 21 Jan 1996 Puerto Rico Senior Tournament of Champions −9 (69-68-70=207) 1 stroke   Jim Colbert
3 2 Jun 1996 Bruno's Memorial Classic −8 (67-70-71=208) Playoff   John Paul Cain,   Kermit Zarley
4 18 Aug 1996 Northville Long Island Classic −14 (70-66-66=202) 3 strokes   Jim Colbert
5 13 Oct 1996 The Transamerica −12 (69-69-66=204) 1 stroke   Jim Colbert

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1996 Bruno's Memorial Classic   John Paul Cain,   Kermit Zarley Won with bogey on third extra hole
Zarley eliminated by par on second hole
2 1997 Senior British Open   Gary Player Lost to birdie on second extra hole

European Senior Tour wins (3) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 1 Oct 1995 London Masters −6 (70-69-71=210) 4 strokes   Tony Grubb,   Hugh Inggs,
  John Morgan,   Bobby Verwey
2 9 Aug 2009 Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open −11 (65-69-65=199) Playoff   Bob Boyd
3 20 Jun 2010 Ryder Cup Wales Seniors Open −8 (69-68-71=208) 1 stroke   Ángel Franco,   Chris Williams

European Senior Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1997 Senior British Open   Gary Player Lost to birdie on second extra hole
2 2009 Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open   Bob Boyd Won with birdie on second extra hole

Other senior wins (4) edit

Results in major championships edit

Tournament 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991
The Open Championship CUT T52 CUT T16 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT T53 T80

Note: Bland only played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984 Open Championships)
"T" = tied

Team appearances edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Week 17 1991 Ending 28 Apr 1991" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  2. ^ "SA golfer John Bland passes away". The Citizen. South Africa. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Statement on the passing of John Bland". Sunshine Tour. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.

External links edit

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