Bling Hitting Wedges – and Books – This Week

Devon Bling is no stranger to playing well at Pebble Beach. The sophomore from UCLA was the runner-up to Viktor Hovland here in last year’s U.S. Amateur, and is in the 119th U.S. Open field thanks to that impressive performance. While most players are only concerned with competing this week, Bling is juggling that goal with finals week at UCLA. The Ridgecrest, Calif., native is enrolled in three online classes: nutrition, theater, and Scandinavian history. Bling, 19, said that most of his teachers have been understanding of his busy schedule, which included a spot in the Masters Tournament in April, where he made a hole-in-one during the Wednesday par-3 contest. Bling has a Friday deadline for a 2,000-word history paper, which he admitted on Monday that he had not started yet.