Cape Town, South Africa – John Bland, the South African golfer who won twice on the European Tour along with eight major titles in his professional career that spanned more than 40 years, has died. He was 77 years old.
Bland’s death was announced by the Sunshine Tour golf course in South Africa. The Sunshine Tour said he died Tuesday after battling cancer with his family and the handsome bulldog by his side.
Bland won 36 titles in total and faced the best players in the world in some of his most memorable performances.
In two victories on his European Tour, he beat two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer at the Benson & Hedges International in England in 1983 and won the Suze Open in France by four shots from golfing great Seve Ballesteros in 1986.
Bland has five victories on the Senior PGA Tour and three on the European Grand Tour, the last of which came in 2010. He lost to nine-time major champion and compatriot Gary Player in a playoff at the 1997 British Open.
The Sunshine Tour said Bland was “one of South Africa’s most beloved and respected athletes”.