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Men’s golf returns starters, prepares for Blessings Collegiate Invitational

Devon Bling and Eddy Lai (pictured) will be returning to UCLA men’s golf as graduate students in the Blessings Collegiate Invitational from Monday to Wednesday. The two will suit up for the team’s one and two positions, respectively. (Courtesy of UCLA Athletics)

By Lauryn Olina Wang

Oct. 4, 2021 12:51 a.m.

Correction: The original version of this article and its headline incorrectly referred to the Blessings Collegiate Invitational as the Blessings Intercollegiate Invitational.

This post was updated Nov. 1 at 12:25 a.m.

The Bruins are running it back with graduate student starters Devon Bling and Eddy Lai at the helm.

UCLA men’s golf welcomed back every starter from last season after Bling and Lai decided to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility following the COVID-19 pandemic. With Bling and Lai in the one-two positions in the starting lineup, the Bruins will tee up for their first tournament of the season at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in Arkansas starting Monday.

According to coach Derek Freeman, Bling is concluding his undergraduate degree and Lai is pursuing his master’s degree as they both enter their fifth seasons donning the blue and gold. Bling and Lai discussed using the extra year of eligibility in the spring, but Freeman wasn’t notified of their decision until the summer.

Freeman said he looks forward to their leadership and experience and touched on his high hopes for a year meant to rewrite the losses of last season.

“We’re just really excited to have their leadership (and) have them still as part of our team,” Freeman said. “They’re great leaders. … They work really hard and we’re excited about them coming back and leading our team to championships.”

Bling said he is eager to be a mentor and leader for the team and added that he empathizes with the nerves many of the freshmen will experience transitioning from junior golf to collegiate play.

“The younger guys look up to me, and I’m more than happy to help them through everything,” Bling said. “That’s just what a good team leader does and what it takes to have a successful team.”

That cooperation and mentorship has particularly resonated with senior Bryan Teoh, who started in all eight events last year and said he is also assuming a leadership role in his fourth season.

“Our team relations have been significantly better due to the fact that we have the old guys who came back and then we have new guys on the team,” Teoh said. “They have received really good guidance from the upperclassmen. We as a team have been looking forward to this positive teamwork.”

The younger players are not only mentees for the upperclassmen, they’re motivation as well, according to Freeman. The underclassmen have proven their capabilities already, with freshman Pablo Ereño Perez and sophomore Alvaro Muller Baumgart Lucena set to get their first career starts at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational. They round out the rest of the lineup, which also includes Bling, Lai and Teoh.

“All of those guys played really well, so it was great to see (the) competition level rise,” Freeman said. “These young guys have really made the whole team get better in a short amount of time, and I think competition is great. It was really difficult to get into this lineup, so we were super excited about that.”

Amid heightened expectations and new team dynamics, Teoh said, above all, he is thankful for the ability to play with the Bruins this season.

“I learned a thing or two from last season – that we take things for granted,” Teoh said. “Coming back from that, this year it’s different – we have everything we need. I’m feeling really grateful to be back and motivated to do better.”

The Bruins’ quest for the Blessings Collegiate Invitational title will be televised on the Golf Channel starting Monday.

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Lauryn Olina Wang | Sports senior staff
Wang is currently a Sports senior staff writer on the women’s basketball, men’s basketball, NIL and football beats. She was previously an assistant Sports editor on the women’s basketball, men’s soccer, men’s golf and track and field beats, reporter on the women’s basketball beat and contributor on the men’s and women’s golf beats. Wang is also a fourth-year history major and community engagement and social change minor.
Wang is currently a Sports senior staff writer on the women’s basketball, men’s basketball, NIL and football beats. She was previously an assistant Sports editor on the women’s basketball, men’s soccer, men’s golf and track and field beats, reporter on the women’s basketball beat and contributor on the men’s and women’s golf beats. Wang is also a fourth-year history major and community engagement and social change minor.
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