WENTWORTH: Richard Bland, the surprise early joint clubhouse leader at the PGA Championship, gave himself and his family a welcome reason to smile on Thursday after a wretched run on and off the course.
The 45-year-old Englishman, whose best result in 22 years of being a professional is tied for runner-up in the 2002 Irish Open, carded a five-under par 67 in what is his best round since January.
His excellent first round means that, barring disaster on Friday, he can plan for a rare event this season playing the full four rounds of a tournament having missed the cut on seven of the 10 he has played.
His start was made extra special as his brother Heath was an onlooker.
"My brother got very seriously ill in December and was in a coma for nearly a month after Christmas," said Bland, who posted three birdies in the final four holes.
"He's still recovering, he's here today which is great, it's great to see him walking round.
"He'll probably go for a little afternoon sleep now because he's not done anything for the last six months.
"He's on the road to recovery.
"We were a close family anyway and it's brought us closer together.
"It just makes you think that even though I've had a tough time on the course, life ain't that bad at the end of the day."
Bland, who lost his card to play on the top tier tour only to regain it, said he was also delighted that endless hours of practice had paid off with his best ever round in the Championship, a tournament in which he finished fifth in 2006.
"I know the results are not showing it but I felt it was trending back in the right direction," he said.
"It's just nice to finally see something red for the hours you've put in on the range."
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