"Nowhere else to go" - Major champ becomes first player to commit to LIV Golf 2.0

Richard Bland has indicated he plans to continue competing with LIV Golf if the league's proposed 2.0 format moves forward.

The English golfer has been part of the circuit since day one and has earned $20,322,194 in prize money during his five-year spell with the renegade tour.

Although several high-profile players have remained tight-lipped over their future plans, Bland has told Tom Hobbs of FlushingIt that, other than the Legends Tour, he has "nowhere else to play".

"I'm banned until next August on the PGA Tour Champions," the two-time senior major winner said. 

"And, you know, I don't have the desire to go back to the DP World Tour and start from the bottom again.

"I'm too old for that. I'm 54 next year and I'm done chasing after the game and trying to work my way up the ladder.

"I've done that for 25 years.

"The last few years on LIV have been absolutely brilliant and if [the new] LIV doesn't come off, I'll play the senior majors."

Bland's comments come as Jon Rahm moves towards an official exit from LIV Golf, with his attorney confirming that he will not be part of the league in 2027.

LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September after Saudi Arabia withdrew its multibillion-dollar financing.

Rahm's lawyer, John Beck, told the hearing that the Spaniard had "independently reviewed" the terms of LIV Golf 2.0 and determined they were "unacceptable".

He added that Rahm and his representatives are now in "advanced talks" for a consensual separation agreement between the former Masters champion and LIV.

The court also heard that existing LIV players now have until 25 October to confirm whether they would like to be part of the league's plans for 2027, which are set to be financed by London-based credit firm BC Partners.

Ted Goldthorpe, head of BC Partners, told BBC Sport on Tuesday that he was "confident" they would get the required number and calibre of players to sign up for LIV 2.0 by the new deadline.

"The next focus for us is going to be to sign players, which we're going to work on for the next month. 

"In parallel to that, we're going to be business planning, event planning, rehiring the staff, you know, and revitalising the LIV. I'm spending a lot of time on this right now."

Asked about conversations with players, he said: "I'm not that worried, I'm honestly not that worried about it. 

"I don't think we have a hard deadline for a number of players or who those players are. 

"But we feel pretty confident we have critical mass."

He added that BC Partners wanted to be involved with LIV for the "long term".

Rahm isn't the only player seeking an exit. 

Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia has also had his LIV contract rejected, per his lawyers' request.

Garcia could still sign a new contract, but it appears as though the Spaniard has his heart set on one last attempt at qualifying for the European Ryder Cup team in 2027. 

GolfDigest have also reported that Cameron Smith, Harold Varner III, Matthew Wolff, Marc Leishman and Ben An have also asked for their contracts to be terminated.