Bling is Singh: Punjabi connection at Masters

Shona Manco

Chandigarh, April 13

While the leaders get all the attention, there are always stories of hard work and determination that come to the fore at Majors like the Masters.

Nineteen-year-old Devon Bling has one such an inspirational story. Devon lost his mother, the first cousin of hockey Olympian Hardeep Grewal (Nitta), when he was 14 and his father did an amazing job of raising Devon and his brother. As the Captain of the Chandigarh Golf Club, KS Brar, who knows the family, says, “he has good pedigree and sporting lineage.” The family has had its share of adversity and even though his mother will not be amongst those walking alongside him at Augusta, Devon knows she will be watching.

A sophomore at UCLA and runners-up at the 2018 US Amateur golf championship, Devon has excellent ball-striking abilities, can hit any shot and can also create shots when needed, according to his coach Andrew Larkin.

At Pebble Beach with Larkin as his caddie, Devon finished runners-up in the US Amateur championship last year to earn an invite for this year’s Masters and US Open, which will also be held at Pebble Beach.

Tweeting from the Masters, Devon said, “Honestly, coming in not knowing how the golf course would play during the tournament, if someone said would you take 3-over par after the first two rounds I probably would.”

The highlight for him was meeting Tiger Woods: “I’ve met so many amazing people this week but the biggest handshake for me came on the range on Tuesday when I met Tiger Woods. It was huge. He was my inspiration growing up. I don’t even remember what I said. I kind of blacked out for a few minutes.” Devon has earned his place in the final line-up on the last two days at Augusta National and the Punjabi golf fraternity will be watching his progress as one of their own.

Idolised woods

Born Devondeep Singh Bling in Ridgecrest, California, he idolised Tiger Woods in golf. His father, Tejbir Bling, is originally from Punjab. Devon fell in love with golf as a child after seeing his father hit golf balls in the garage. Devon is majoring in business economics at the University of California at Los Angeles