John Bland (golfer)

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John Bland
Senior PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year
1996

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.

Early life and career

Bland was born in

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

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)

European Tour wins (2)

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 West Germany Bernhard Langer
2 20 Apr 1986
Suze Open
 −12 (68-71-70-67=276) 4 strokes Spain Seve Ballesteros

Southern Africa Tour wins (19)

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 South Africa Gary Player
2 29 Oct 1977 Victoria Falls Classic −9 (70-69-72-72=283) 3 strokes South Africa John Fourie
3 3 Dec 1977
Holiday Inns Invitational
 −23 (67-66-65-67=265) 4 strokes South Africa Bobby Cole
4 7 Feb 1979
Holiday Inns Open
(2) 		−21 (66-69-65-67=267) Playoff South Africa Andries Oosthuizen
5 17 Jan 1981 Sigma Series 2 −15 (71-65-70-67=273) 3 strokes Zimbabwe Nick Price
6 24 Jan 1981 Sigma Series 3 −15 (71-66-66-70=273) 1 stroke South Africa Tienie Britz, Zimbabwe Nick Price
7 26 Feb 1983
Holiday Inns Pro-Am
(3) 		−17 (68-65-68-70=271) 2 strokes Zimbabwe Teddy Webber
8 5 Mar 1983 Kodak Golf Classic −17 (65-67-70-69=271) Playoff United States David Sann
9 22 Dec 1984 Goodyear Classic −11 (68-69-72-68=277) Playoff Zimbabwe Nick Price
10 20 Dec 1987 Goodyear Classic (2) −3 (71-69-72-69=281) 2 strokes South Africa Mark Wiltshire
11 13 Mar 1988 Trustbank Tournament of Champions −20 (67-66-67-68=268) 3 strokes Canada Philip Jonas, Zimbabwe Mark McNulty
12 26 Nov 1988
Safmarine South African Masters
 −13 (69-70-63-73=275) 3 strokes Zimbabwe Tony Johnstone
13 7 Jan 1989 Dewar's White Label Trophy −15 (70-66-71-66=273) 1 stroke Zimbabwe Tony Johnstone
14 3 Mar 1990 Dewar's White Label Trophy (2) −14 (64-70-71-69=274) 1 stroke United States Jay Townsend
15 17 Nov 1990 Minolta Copiers Match Play −2 (70) 5 strokes South Africa Hugh Baiocchi
16 15 Dec 1990 Bloemfontein Classic −15 (65-67-73-68=273) 6 strokes South Africa Hugh Baiocchi
17 12 Jan 1991 Palabora Classic −10 (70-69-68-71=278) 1 stroke South Africa Mark Wiltshire
18 23 Feb 1991 Bell's Cup −11 (68-67-71-71=277) 1 stroke South Africa Retief Goosen
19 2 Mar 1991 Trustbank Tournament of Champions (2) −19 (62-71-70-66=269) 7 strokes South Africa Justin Hobday

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (3–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1979
Holiday Inns Open
 South Africa Andries Oosthuizen Won with par on fifth extra hole
2 1981
Datsun South African Open
 England Warren Humphreys, South Africa 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 United States David Sann Won with par on third extra hole
4 1984 Goodyear Classic Zimbabwe Nick Price Won with birdie on first extra hole

Challenge Tour wins (1)

Other wins (2)

Senior PGA Tour wins (5)

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 United States Jim Colbert
2 21 Jan 1996
Puerto Rico Senior Tournament of Champions
 −9 (69-68-70=207) 1 stroke United States Jim Colbert
3 2 Jun 1996
Bruno's Memorial Classic
 −8 (67-70-71=208) Playoff United States John Paul Cain, United States Kermit Zarley
4 18 Aug 1996
Northville Long Island Classic
 −14 (70-66-66=202) 3 strokes United States Jim Colbert
5 13 Oct 1996
The Transamerica
 −12 (69-69-66=204) 1 stroke United States Jim Colbert

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

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

European Senior Tour wins (3)

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

European Senior Tour playoff record (1–1)

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

Other senior wins (4)

Results in major championships

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

References

  1. 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

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