AUSINT, Texas — Please pardon Richard Bland. As with many others peeking at a 50th birthday on the horizon, Bland is the first to admit he’s still scrambling to learn New Math.
For example, the journeyman — who captured his first European Tour victory last at the Betfred British Masters in his 478th start — had been advised by those on his side to sit out the last few weeks, regardless of his desire to improve his Official World Golf Ranking prior to the upcoming Masters.
“In all my career I really never had to worry about my World Ranking and then suddenly when I went to I think 53 after Dubai, it’s been really weird,” Bland said after his match Friday at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. “I’ve had a guy sort of helping me with sort of permutations, and he’s going like, ‘It’s probably best you don’t play this week — or not this week, you know, on another week.’
