Thongchai Jaidee (67) and Bob Estes (70) shared fifth at 8-under 282, with Vijay Singh (66) solo seventh (273). Ernie Els (65), Stephen Ames (68) and Paul Stankowski (71) rounded out the top 10, sharing eighth at 274.
Because of Sunday’s two-hour fog delay and afternoon storms, the championship required its first regulation Monday finish since 2016 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. More than a half-inch of rain fell on the property, requiring yeoman’s work by Newport superintendent Chris Coen, his staff of 16 and 20 volunteers to get this classic venue playable for the 8 a.m. EDT restart on Monday.
Bland was on the 11th green when play was halted on Sunday at 3:01 p.m., and playing in the threesome ahead of Fujita, Stricker and Green, recognized quickly on Monday that Fujita was showing his first sign of nerves. He missed only his second fairway of the week on No. 11, leading to just his third bogey. He then lipped out a short par putt on 12 and bogeyed 14. Meanwhile, Bland recovered from a bogey on the 234-yard par-3 13th by making a 15-footer on 14 for birdie and stuffing his approach on 15 to 3 feet to take the outright lead.
But on the challenging 473-yard 18th hole, which played into the wind on Monday morning, Bland found the fairway cross bunker and eventually made a clutch 8-footer for bogey to fall back into a tie at 13 under. Fujita steadied himself with pars on Nos. 15, 16 and 17 and had a 40-footer for birdie on 18 to win that stopped just short of the hole.
That led to the first U.S. Senior Open aggregate playoff since 2014 when Colin Montgomerie edged Gene Sauers by a stroke in what was then a three-hole affair.
Fujita tied Bland on No. 10 with a clutch par putt from 6 feet. Each parred 18 as well, sending the players back to the closing hole. This time, each made bogey – Bland hitting his approach well right of the green and Fujita finding a greenside bunker to the left of the putting surface. But in the second go-around, Bland’s 214-yard approach with a hybrid found the same left-greenside bunker, while Fujita came up short from 259 yards.
Fujita’s pitch stopped 15 feet away, leading to Bland’s shot of the week. The ball took one hop, hit the flagstick and somehow stayed out of the hole.
“It wasn’t that tough of a shot,” said Bland of his third on the fourth playoff hole. “My main aim was just to get it right because he had, what, 20 feet across the slope. He’s got to know that I’m making 4. That was my objective there. If I can get this as close as I possibly can, so it puts the pressure on him that he now knows he's got to hole it.
“An unbelievable [par] putt [by Fujita]. Four feet out, yeah, I’m thinking I’m going back down to the 18th tee again. It couldn't miss. Fortunate enough for me, it stayed on the top side. Yeah, two inches to win at the U.S. [Senior] Open, I can handle those.”
When he converted the tap-in, an emotional Bland raised both fists and enjoyed a congratulatory bear hug with his caddie, James Walton.
Bland has enjoyed quite a renaissance the past three years. A journeyman since turning professional in 1996, Bland waited until his 478th start on the European Tour (now DP World Tour) to collect his maiden victory at the 2022 Betfred British Masters, becoming the oldest first-time champion in circuit history at 48. A year earlier, he shared the 36-hole lead with Russell Henley in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, eventually settling for a share of 50th in his third-ever major-championship start.
Because he joined LIV Golf in 2022, Bland has been ineligible for PGA Tour Champions events. He received a sponsor’s exemption from the PGA of America into last month’s Senior PGA Championship in Benton Harbor, Mich., and took full advantage, edging Green by three strokes.
That week, Bland found out that his brother, Heath, had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He had been battling health issues for several years, including recent surgery for bowel cancer.
“We had some good news that it’s not going to be hugely invasive surgery,” said Bland of his brother’s condition. “It’s only going to be keyhole, and it’s going to be only an overnight stay. When he had his surgery three, four months ago for his bowel cancer, he was in hospital for nearly six weeks, and it was a 15-hour operation.
“We’re just praying that hopefully that once this is gone, that’s it for him. You hear the statistics that it’s kind of one in every two people get it, and you always kind of think, you know what, it won’t happen to us. When it does, it’s like a train wreck. It’s an absolute train wreck.”
