After 191 stars, Megan Khang claimed her maiden LPGA Tour title after she won a playoff against Jin Young Ko in the CPKC Women’s Open in Canada.
The 25-year-old began the day five shots ahead of the South Korean, but Ko got her final round off to an excellent start with a birdie before heading into the back nine two under. A bogey on the 11th proved a setback, but further birdies on the 14th and 16th helped her take the clubhouse lead as Khang endured a more inconsistent round.
That included five bogeys, one of which came on the 17th, leaving her needing a birdie on the last hole to force a playoff – no easy task considering only four other players had achieved the feat on the hole all day.
Khang rose to the challenge, hitting her second shot to within five feet before holing the putt to force the playoff.
If most still expected Ko to close out her 16th LPGA Tour title at that point, her tee shot on the first playoff hole, which she hit too far left and resulted in a penalty shot, gave her plenty to do, particularly after Khang found the middle of the fairway.
It got worse for Ko when her third shot found a bunker and, from there, she could only get to 40 feet for a bogey putt.
Meanwhile, Khang was having no such issues, with an approach shot leaving her on the edge of the green. In the end, Ko had to settle for a double bogey, while Khang two-putted for her first win on the LPGA Tour in eight years of trying.
Khang, who had already qualified automatically for the US Solheim Cup team, explained afterwards that there had been signs the win was coming. She said: “My game has been trending in the right direction lately and I think this just adds the self-confidence that, hey, I can win out here. I have won out here now.”
However, she admitted there had been nerves along the way. She continued: “There were definitely nerves. I was shaking signing my scorecard. I triple-checked that scorecard to make sure everything was correct and we did sign.”
Elsewhere, Andrea Lee secured her place in Stacy Lewis’s team for September’s biennial match at Finca Cortesin. Lee needed to finish 13th the qualify automatically, and eventually tied for 13th to guarantee her maiden appearance.
