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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 24, 2018

Richard Bland

Surrey, England

RICHARD BLAND: Last week in Belgium, unfortunately bogeyed the last to miss the playoff by a shot, that was a bitter one to swallow but I just tried to stay positive and knew that, right, I know the results are not showing it but I felt it was trending back in the right direction. It's just nice to finally see something red and for all the hours I've put in on the range.

Q. How pleased are you with where your golf swing is right now? Tim Barter worked with you and he said it's looking quite tidy.
RICHARD BLAND: It's never that far away. We always think it's a million miles away but you know as well as anybody, it's never that far away. It's just trying to stay in touch with that. I've worked very, very hard with Tim and then it's just trusting it out on the golf course and I did that very, very well today. There was a couple of shots I didn't quite commit as well as I'd like but overall very happy.

Q. We talk about the joys of modern day technology but an issue at the start of the season. Talk us through what was going on?
RICHARD BLAND: My issue all through the years is trying to get spin off the ball with the driver. The new technology this year, I couldn't get any spin on it, so the ball is just not in the air long enough. I went back to my old driver but then last week, I got a new driver from Callaway and today I've probably driven it as good as I can remember. I've got a lot of confidence with it, and I'm just going to go with it.

Q. It appears so. Golf is all well and good but just a little mention, you've had quite a tough time over the last six months. Give us the sort of insight you've had what's been going on off the course?
RICHARD BLAND: My brother got very seriously ill in December and was in a coma for nearly a month over Christmas. Fortunately he seems on the way to recovery. He's still recovering and he's here today. It's great to see him walking around. I think he'll probably go for a little afternoon sleep now because he's not done anything for the last six months, but he's on the road to recovery. We're a close family, anyway, and it's brought us even more closer together and yeah, it just makes you think, even though I've had a tough time on the course, life ain't that bad at the end of the day.

I've tried to sort of keep grasp of that, as well, and hopefully now I can just push on forward.

Q. How would you describe the quality of your golf today, round of 67?
RICHARD BLAND: Better than it's been. It's been a tough season. I felt like on the range it's been -- the quality of practice I've been doing is better and it's just been taking it out on the course. Today is one of those days you need just to see the progress you're making. Yeah, it was nice to finish off, especially with three birdies because you know you're on for a good score and I managed to stay free and say positive and stay aggressive, and worked out for me today.

Q. What part of your game are you seeing the greatest progress, maybe compared to a year ago?
RICHARD BLAND: Yeah, I drove the ball great today. Especially the weather that we played in today; it was cold and damp and the ball is not going very far, so you had to have all your game with you. Yeah, fortunately it was there for me today and I can continue over the next three days.

Q. 45 years of age, you joined The European Tour in 2002 and you're looking for your first win. What would it mean at this point in your career?
RICHARD BLAND: It would be everything. I think if I hang my boots up at the end of my career and I don't win, you're always going to look back at it as a little bit of a disappointment. Yet the standard is so high out here for me, at my age, if you can win, you get that exemption and it prolongs your career out here a little longer. That's great, because these guys are getting younger and yeah, it's tough to keep up with them.

Q. How pleasing is it to walk off here with a 67?
RICHARD BLAND: Very. It's been tough. It's kind of like even though last week I missed the cut, I missed by one, but I played a lot better. I just got unlucky a couple of times. As disappointing as it was, I just thought, okay, it's trending in the right direction and it's now just a case of being patient. It was nice today to put it together and post a score.

Q. Three birdies in the Final Four today, that must have been pleasing?
RICHARD BLAND: Yeah, it's been cold and damp today. 15 I flushed it off the tee and flushed a 4-iron to the front edge. I managed to roll it in, and you know you've always got chances at 17 and 18. If you can get your tee shots away and get yourself in position, you can give yourself a chance. Fortunately I made two birdies and that will make lunch taste a lot sweeter.

Q. You mentioned the conditions. How different from the start to the round to the finish, you've had a lot to contend with today?
RICHARD BLAND: We played on Tuesday afternoon playing in shorts, and it's probably 25 degrees and the ball is going miles. Today, it's going nowhere, and I'm hitting 6-iron 165 today, 20 yards short. That's tough. That's really hard, certainly for me, to mentally then commit to your yardages. The ball is just not going to travel in the temperature.

So it was playing long out there today, and someone at my age, yeah, I was feeling it.

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