Norway's Hovland, UCLA's Bling advance to U.S. Amateur final

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) Viktor Hovland of Norway and UCLA sophomore Devon Bling won Saturday to advance to the U.S. Amateur final at Pebble Beach.

Hovland, a junior at Oklahoma State, made six birdies on seven holes on the back nine to knock off Texas teen Cole Hammer 3 and 2. Hovland became the first U.S. Amateur finalist from Norway.

Bling, of Ridgecrest, was stretched to the 18th hole for the fourth straight match before beating Stanford senior Isaiah Salinda of South San Francisco 1 up in an all-California matchup.

By advancing to the final, Hovland and Bling both qualified for next year's Masters and U.S. Open, which also will be played at Pebble Beach.

---

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports