Journeyman Richard Bland makes a splash with backing for LIV rebels

Defectors eager to insist they were right all along as bickering between different factions shows no signs of abating

We really are encountering the wackiest of times when an acerbic bulletin from Richard Bland can turn heads. Bland was the epitome of a journeyman before shooting to fame with victory on his 478th start on the DP World Tour. A Sky Sports documentary was even released in celebration of his British Masters triumph.

Within the blink of an eye Bland, now 50, had joined the LIV circuit on the apparently palatable basis that this represented an unmissable opportunity for a man of his age to pick up life-changing cash. The emotion associated with 478" had been usurped by commerce.