He never considered quitting and fought his way back from the sport’s minor leagues even as he got used to being one of the oldest players in each event.
Bland did not mention one other possible perk: A chance to win the tournament and join the exclusive club of major golf champions.
In fact, Bland, who teed off early Friday morning, held the second-round lead for most of the day until Henley caught and passed him with a late charge.
Coupled with a first-round 70, Bland now has two below-par rounds at the championship, heady scores in an event in which anything under par is often good enough to win.
Bland, who is No.
Mickelson, whose world ranking was 115 before the P.G.A.
“I wasn’t ready for messages from people all over the globe — Australia, South America, China, America,” he said.
“I think every kind of sportsman or sportswoman, they have that never-die or that never-quit attitude, no matter whether it’s golf or it’s tennis or it’s boxing, whatever it is,” he said.
“Golf is all I know, and even if things got hard there for a while, what was I going to do?” he asked.
Bland’s only other appearance in an American golf tournament came in 2009, when he accumulated enough standing in the European rankings to qualify for the U.S.
Several top golfers rallied from disappointing first rounds to get back into contention on Friday, including Collin Morikawa, whose 67 left him at even par overall.