Adam Bland, who now spends most of his week teaching golf, has won again. The 44-year-old South Australian claimed the Players Series South Australia at Willunga Golf Course on Sunday 25 October, finishing at 17 under par to win by two shots and end an 11-year title drought.

A long time between wins

Bland’s last title was the 2015 Japan PGA Championship. His first professional win came at the 2005 WA PGA Championship on the PGA Tour of Australasia, 7,817 days before Sunday’s victory, according to Golf Australia Magazine and Fox Sports.

“It’s definitely been a long time between drinks on this tour, that’s for sure,” Bland said. “I just love playing in front of family and friends and to be able to do it in front of them is just unbelievable.”

Now predominantly a teaching professional at Glenelg Golf Club, Bland plays a select number of events each season. He explained why: “I was going to give it up to just be home with the kids because they’re 16, 12 and eight now, and I figured if I play for another five years, their childhood’s pretty much gone.”

Fox Sports reported that the win guarantees him a place in the Australian PGA Championship and the Australian Open later this year.

How it was won

Louis Dobbelaar made it a contest on the back nine, reeling off three straight birdies from the 10th to join Bland at 17 under. But bogeys at the 13th, 15th and 17th stalled his charge. Playing in the group ahead, Bland closed with six consecutive pars, and Dobbelaar birdied the last to finish outright second at 15 under.

Canada’s Thomas Giroux and Ben Eccels tied for third at 14 under. Jake McLeod finished seventh despite a two-stroke penalty for moving a distance marker that had been designated an immovable obstruction, a breach he reported himself. “I can’t sleep at night if I’ve done the wrong thing,” McLeod told Fox Sports.

Reigning Australian Amateur champion Jazy Roberts, 21, tied for 11th at 8 under and was the leading woman and amateur in the mixed field.

The race for a European card

Dobbelaar’s second runner-up finish of the season lifted the 25-year-old Queenslander to the top of the Order of Merit, with Bland climbing to fifth. Fox Sports reported that Dobbelaar will earn a DP World Tour card if he stays on top at season’s end.

The tour now takes a break before the Ford NSW Open, which concludes on 15 November, followed by the Queensland PGA Championship, the BMW Australian PGA Championship and the Australian Open in Melbourne in early December.

Sources: Golf Australia Magazine / Australian Golf Media (26 October 2026); Fox Sports (26 October 2026); PGA Tour of Australasia 2026–27 schedule.