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Jul 23, 2021

Devon Bling goes low to take third round lead at 54th Pacific Coast Amateur

Devon Bling
Devon Bling tees off to begin his third round.

Championship Links:

Results | Tee Times | Photos

News from Round Three

Devon Bling of Ridgecrest, Calif. fired a 9-under par 62 in today’s third round to take the lead heading into the final round of the 54th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, hosted this week at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.

Bling entered the day four-shots off the lead and went on absolute tear to rocket up to the top of the leaderboard. “I missed one fairway and one green,” said Bling, “I stuffed it inside five feet probably eight times today.”

The Southern California native opened with 33 on the front-nine, before blistering the back-side in just 29 shots. He carded 10 birdies against a single bogey.

“I hit my irons incredibly well and hit my spots every single time, that was the key,” said Bling. “I’ve been working on a few things with my swing and today I felt totally comfortable.”

Bling is the No. 97 ranked amateur in the world (WAGR) and recently finished his senior season on the UCLA Bruins Men’s Golf Team. In 2018 he finished runner-up at the U.S. Amateur. In 2019 he played in the Masters and was one of four amateurs to make the cut.

Devon Bling
Devon Bling putts for birdie on the par-3 ninth hole during Thursday’s third round.

Sitting three shots back of Bling, in solo second place, is Walker Lee of Houston, Texas. Lee had a great day in his own right, firing an 8-under par 63 to make a big move up the leaderboard.  

Round two leader Dylan Menante of La Costa, Calif. followed up yesterday’s round of 64 with a 3-over 74 today. He enters the final round in a tie for ninth place, eight shots off the lead.

Notable:

  • Three players who played for the reigning national champion Pepperdine Men’s Golf Team will be paired together in the final round, Joey Vrzich of La Jolla, Calif., Dylan Menante of La Costa, Calif. and RJ Manke of Lakewood, Wash.
  • Just two players have shot in the 60s during all three rounds, Gavin Cohen of Phoenix, Ariz. and Hazen Newman of Las Vegas, Nev.
  • Four players from Washington sit under-par after three rounds; Joe Highsmith of Lakewood, John Sand of Hoquiam, RJ Manke of Lakewood and Ian Siebers of Bellevue.
  • 35 players out of the 84 player field sit at even-par or better after three rounds.
  • Playing from the upper tee box, the 227-yard par-3 ninth hole played as the toughest hole in round three. The hole saw just three birdies and had a scoring average of 3.34.

Up next

Final round play gets underway tomorrow (Friday) morning July 23 at Chambers Bay. Tee times begin at 7:30am and will go off the No. 1 and No. 10 tees.