After finishing her opening round with three straight bogeys, Megan Khang was eager to clean things up a little during the second round of the CPKC Women’s Open at Shaughnessy Golf Club & Country Club in Vancouver. She certainly didn’t want another similar stretch like the one that pulled her down the leaderboard a bit on Thursday.
But while others struggled to score during Friday’s action, Khang flipped the script and rather than stringing bogeys together the 25-year-old made five straight birdies on the back nine, posted a 66 and leapfrogged the rest of the field and grab the clubhouse lead at 7 under after the early wave at the LPGA event.
Khang was one of just two players to break 70 in the morning wave, with the other being local favorite Brooke Henderson. But after struggling to a 75 in the opening round, Henderson’s 68 on Friday merely got her back in the mix, not near the top of the leaderboard. At 1 under, she trails Khang by six strokes. Linn Grant is a stroke behind Khang while Jin Young Ko sits two strokes back with Nelly Korda three off Khang’s pace.
“Today, it was a solid day. You know, yesterday I felt pretty good myself. You know, it’s never a good feeling finishing three bogeys in a row so obviously I knew I could play some pretty good golf out here,” Khang said. “Each day is different but, yeah, no, kind of mid-round my ball striking got pretty hot and then my putter was just getting hot as well.
“So just kind of like staying patient out there. The front nine felt monotonous making one birdie, but on this kind of golf course par is definitely your friend, and sometimes it’s a really good par out there.”
While the CPKC Women’s Open marks the last event for players to qualify for the 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup team, Khang needn’t worry about her position as she joins Lilia Vu, Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz as players who have already clinched a spot. And while Khang has been a force on the LPGA since electing to forego college and turning professional at 18, she’s still searching for her first win.
Walk-and-talk with @megan_khang1023 and @adam_stanley! pic.twitter.com/W3ekxRWHBI
— LPGA (@LPGA) August 25, 2023
She knows that despite two solid rounds, there’s plenty of work to be done if she’s finally due for her initial victory.
“Honestly, this golf course I feel like you can’t really get too comfortable on. These fairways are tight and the greens are fast and firm, so I’m not taking anything for granted,” Khang said. “I’m just going out there just trying to deal with one shot at a time. And, you know, I’m obviously in the morning wave right now, and so Yuka clearly plays this golf course just as well.
“So it’s kind of, you know, anyone’s game out there. I’m trying not to look at anyone else but just stay within myself.”
