Devon Bling (R) and Mike Woods, PGA Director of Golf, Haggin Oaks
SACRAMENTO, CA (September 3, 2018) -
Devon Bling (Ridgecrest, Calif.) shot a final-round 5-under 67 to overtake the second-round leader
Matt Cohn (San Francisco, Calif.) and win the 94th California State Fair Amateur at the Alister Mackenzie Golf Course at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex.
For Bling, it was a continuation of the momentum gained from a memorable run at the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach two weeks ago. Bling won five straight matches before falling in the final to the hottest player in the field,
Viktor Hovland of Norway.
Related: Devon Bling interview with AmateurGolf.com at Pebble Beach
Cohn, the reigning Northern California Mid-Amateur champion, started the final round with a one-shot lead over Bling and first-round leader
Lucas Carper (San Jose, Calif.). When Bling suffered back-to-back bogeys at the third and fourth holes, Cohn found himself two ahead of Carper and three ahead of Bling.
Carper would fade out of contention, but Bling would get within one shot of Cohn by the turn, and then pass him with two birdies to start the back nine. Bling would make three more birdies coming in to stay ahead for good.
Playing two groups ahead, Oregon State's
Shawn Lu (Honolulu, Hawaii) made a strong run, going six under through 11 holes and briefly taking the lead at 12 under. But back-to-back bogeys at thirteen and fourteen knocked him backward, and by the time he finished with two straight birdies, it was too late to catch Bling.
Bling finished at 14-under 202, with Lu (66) two shots back. Cohn (72) fell into a four-way tie for third at 206, along with
Matt Lutz (70),
Trey Davis (66) and
Thomas Hutchison (69).
Sam Harned (66),
Zach Smith (69) and
Finigan Tilly (71) shared seventh place at 9-under 207.
Carper (75), a 17-year-old UC Davis commit, finished in a tie for 12th.
Two-time (2000, 2001) State Fair champion
Robert Hamilton closed with a 74 to finish 36th at 1 under, tied with the reigning California State Amateur champion
Bobby Bucey.
ABOUT THE
California State Fair
The State Fair Men's Amateur Championship is one of
the oldest and most prestigious Amateur
Championships in the West. The Championship is
limited to 108 players. Competition commences over a
54-hole stroke play format with 18 holes played each
day. The field is cut after 36 holes to the low 36
players & ties.
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