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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 17, 2018Devon BlingPebble Beach, California Q. We'd like to welcome Devon Bling, a 1-up winner over Davis Riley in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur. Devon, give us a quick synopsis of the match. Long match, went to the final hole, but you prevailed. DEVON BLING: Yeah, it was an intense match all day, right from the start. He won a hole too early, and I had to climb back. There was a couple chances where I could tie the match on the back nine, but I missed a couple of putts, but overall, got it to the 18th hole all square. That's where ideally I wanted to be, and made birdie for the win. Couldn't be happier. Q. You're a semifinalist at the U.S. Amateur. That's quite an accomplishment. Probably not a whole lot of people knew about you before the U.S. Amateur and how you're playing here. Do you enjoy that kind of role coming in under the radar a little bit? DEVON BLING: I do, yeah, I like the underdog role. I've kind of always been like that, coming from Ridgewood, not many people know where that is. Yeah, I do enjoy it, but I'm here to play some golf. That's what I came here to do, and doing it pretty well so far. Q. Your younger brother has been on your bag. He was on your bag at the SCGA Amateur. What does it mean to have your brother out here watching you? DEVON BLING: Yeah, my brother has been there since the beginning. Every tournament he could make it to, he was there, and he's a big part of my golf career so far, and just seeing him out here and him cheering me on, it's been a huge help. I love him, and he's amazing. Q. How were your nerves out there? Were you feeling any pressure at all, any nervousness during the match? DEVON BLING: I was, yeah. I felt nervous a couple times. I was pretty pumped up in certain instances. My assistant coach, he kept telling me to take a couple deep breaths. It was a big stage. I was amped up. I was ready to go. But you've always got to relax. So yeah, there were times where I was pretty nervous. The putt on 18 was -- felt a little longer than three and a half feet. So yeah, I was pretty nervous out there. Q. How much did you feel like you were playing him versus the course today? DEVON BLING: Mostly when I'm playing, I'm usually playing against the golf course. But match play is a little bit different. You do rely on what your competitor does. So yeah, there were certain times -- me and my caddie, we talked it over. If he's going to win a hole, he's going to have to beat me on that hole. And Davis is an incredible player. We battled all day. But yeah, I told myself, keep making pars and throwing in a couple of birdies, it would be a pretty good match. Q. What was the shot you most -- you're kind of most proud of? What's one that really felt special today? DEVON BLING: A big one was -- well, I think two of them were pretty big. The tee shot on 17, I missed the green the last couple of times I've played that hole, so I hit the green, got pretty aggressive with the putt, but ended up making par. And then the next one was the tee shot on 18. To hit driver and commit to that line a little left of the tree and hit a pretty decent one, those are the two biggest shots today. Q. Your last two matches you've had some pretty formidable opponents, both guys who have had some experience going deep into USGA competitions. Do you look at that or just say I've got to play my game and see what I can do? DEVON BLING: It's mostly I'm just trying to play my game and trying to make pars and trying not to make it easy for them to beat me. That's really about it. I could be playing anybody. It's the same way. Q. I'm sure it's not the easiest subject to talk about, but would you care to share the circumstances of your mom's passing, what that meant to you and how you've kind of overcome that in the past couple years? DEVON BLING: Yeah, losing her was extremely difficult, not only for me but for my family and the people around me, but she played a huge role in my golf career. She was always positive, always kept me going. I know she's still in my heart and she's looking down on me and watching me. I'm just hoping to make her proud. Q. You noted in your profile that she had a special thing about USGA championships and seeing you in those. Was there any particular reason why she just knew they were special events? DEVON BLING: They're pretty big events being a college student and college athlete, but yeah, ever since the beginning, we'd watch them on TV, and she'd say, one day we're going to qualify and play in one, and I'll be there to watch you. Unfortunately that's not the case, but I know she's still watching. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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