Richard Bland, who famously held a share of the 36-hole lead at the 2021 U.S. Open—becoming the oldest player ever to achieve that feat—won’t tee it up at the Broadmoor Golf Club for the 2025 U.S. Senior Open. His absence marks another notable scheduling clash, reminiscent of his decision to skip the 2023 Senior PGA Championship.The conflict arises because Bland, now a LIV Golf League player, is obligated to appear in every one of LIV’s 14 regular-season events. This week’s LIV Golf Dallas event at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas, overlaps exactly with the U.S. Senior Open dates at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado. With LIV contracts requiring full attendance to maintain league status, Bland prioritizes league standings and contract obligations over defending his Senior Open title.In a statement via the Cleeks GC social media accounts, he stated, “I’m incredibly proud of winning last year’s US Senior Open, a career highlight that I will always cherish. I’m fully committed to playing the 14-event LIV Golf schedule and honoring my opportunity with the Cleeks and the league, where my goal is to finish in the Top 24 once again and secure my roster spot for next season. I wish the very best to this week’s competitors at The Broadmoor.”In previous senior events, Bland proved his late-career form was no fluke. Winning the 2024 U.S. Senior Open at Newport Country Club in a playoff over Hiroyuki Fujita cemented his reputation as a top senior contender. His Senior PGA Championship victory the same year made him only the 12th player in history to win the U.S. Senior Open on his first attempt. Despite this success, Bland remains pragmatic, highlighting contractual commitments and points requirements for his 2026 LIV status as reasons for missing prestigious senior events. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cleeks Golf Club (@cleeksgolfclub)Additionally, Colorado Springs is expecting a big economic boost with this event, which would have been better if it also had LIV players in it. Broadmoor officials expect around 13000 fans to attend over the next four days. “We have actually worked with USGA in coming up with an estimated economic impact for this event. This could bring in $24 million of an estimated economic impact to the community. Restaurants, shopping, they’re heading into downtown. They’re buying gas, there are just so many opportunities for these folks to shop in our community,” McCullough said.” Skirted Heifer manager Jake Baca “We reopened last year, we definitely had a bit of a deficit in business, but we nearly killed it this time around, and hopefully this weekend can take that up.” On Wednesday, the USGA announced that the Broadmoor will also host the U.S. Senior Open in 2031 and 2037. “I don’t know of another location that has hosted the US Senior Open more than the Broadmoor in its history, but that is a testament not only to the Broadmoor but also to the destination,” McCullough said.However, the exclusion of LIV players can have a big impact in the whole golf community.What could be the possible impact of LIV Golf on Senior MajorsWith Bland opting for LIV Golf’s lucrative stop in Dallas, discussions around the impact of LIV’s scheduling on senior golf majors return to the spotlight. The LIV event offers a massive $25 million total purse, vastly overshadowing the U.S. Senior Open’s $4 million total purse, highlighting the economic disparity that influences players’ decisions. This also means a big addition to Bland’s already increasing net worth.Yet the U.S. Senior Open remains deeply respected, providing competitive prestige, championship exemptions—including a spot in the 2026 U.S. Open—and significant legacy opportunities. For Bland, choosing LIV over Broadmoor signals practical prioritization rather than diminished prestige of the senior event.Historically, scheduling conflicts like these between traditional majors and LIV events are not new. Similar situations arose in 2023 with LIV’s Andalucía tournament clashing with the U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld. Senior players aligned with LIV, including Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood, similarly skipped the senior major to fulfill LIV obligations, reinforcing a trend likely to persist unless schedules become more harmonized.The post Golf Major to Deliver $24M Economic Boost as LIV Golf Blocks Players From Participating in Event appeared first on EssentiallySports.