Megan Khang said making the U.S. Solheim Cup team was one of her goals for the 2019 season. After the experience of a lifetime in Scotland as a Solheim Cup rookie, Khang rode out of the Indy Women in Tech Championship in a tie for fourth, her best finish of the 2019 LPGA Tour season thus far. Khang said it’s been like “a roller coaster” since adjusting after the Solheim Cup but was pleased with the outcome this week.
“This week was really good. I mean, stayed patient out there, definitely. Was like four different days of golf out there, so you definitely had to make sure that you were in the present, and [my caddie] Kurt and I did a great job doing that I feel like,” said Khang. “We always say we can make more putts, but in the end, Top-10 is always great.”
Khang’s T4 finish is her sixth time in the top-10 this season. She said the result only boosts her confidence as she gets closer to her ultimate goal – a win on the LPGA Tour. Khang, who joined the Tour in 2016, said she feels good about her game, and if she keeps giving herself the opportunities to shoot low, a victory is around the corner.
“I think this year my dad and I have been working like really hard on my swing and it's starting to pay off,” said Khang. “As the years go on and the more I'm on tour, I've become a little more patient and slightly more mature each year. I think that's all helping me knock on the door and -- well, my team, just kind of stay patient and know that it is out there.”
PLAYER NOTES
Rolex Rankings No. 40 Mi Jung Hur (63-70-66-68)
- She hit 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 28 putts
- Her 267 ties her second-lowest 72-hole score; her career-best 72-hole score is 264 from the 2019 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open
- Went 112 starts between wins at the 2014 Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic and the 2019 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open; made two starts between her win in Scotland and today
- Becomes sixth player to have multiple wins this season, joining Hannah Green (2), Brooke Henderson (2), Jin Young Ko (4), Sei Young Kim (2) and Sung Hyun Park (2)
- In 2019, she had made 15 cuts in 17 starts with four top-10 finishes including a win at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open
- Has one career victory on the Epson Tour
- Credits her father and watching Se Ri Pak win the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open, as most influencing her career
Rolex Rankings No. 154 Nanna Koerstz Madsen (65-75-64-67)
- She hit 10 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 28 putts
- Koerstz Madsen’s 271 is her career-best 72-hole score on the LPGA Tour
- Her second-place finish ties her career-best finish, last achieved at the 2017 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open as a non-Member
- In 2019, she has made 13 of 18 cuts with three top-20 finishes; her best finish of the season was T11 at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer
- Koerstz Madsen is in her second season on the LPGA Tour
- She represented Denmark at the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing T13
- Koerstz Madsen was a three-time winner as a Epson Tour rookie that led her to become the 12th player in Tour history to earn a "Battlefield Promotion" to the LPGA Tour, playing in three events between late August and early September in 2017
Rolex Rankings No. 31 Marina Alex (66-71-64-72)
- She hit 13 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens, with 30 putts
- Her third-place finish is her best finish of the 2019 LPGA Tour season thus far; her previous season-best was T7 at the Cambia Portland Classic
- Made her Team USA debut at the 2019 Solheim Cup where she posted a 1-1-2 record
- In 2019, she has made 17 of 20 cuts with five top-10 finishes
- At the 2018 Cambia Portland Classic, Alex came from six-shots back to win with a final-round 65
- Alex is in her seventh season on the LPGA Tour, with one career victory at the 2018 Cambia Portland Classic
- Two-time First-Team All-American (2010, 2012) at Vanderbilt University and was inducted in the Vanderbilt Hall of Fame in 2015
- Graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2012 with a degree in Communications
QUICK HITS
- There are seven countries represented in the top 10: Rep. of Korea, Denmark, U.S., Japan, England, Puerto Rico and Germany
CME GROUP CARES CHALLENGE –SCORE 1 FOR ST. JUDE
The CME Group Cares Challenge is a season-long charitable giving program that turns aces into donations. CME Group will donate $20,000 for each hole-in-one made on the LPGA Tour in 2019, with a minimum guaranteed donation of $500,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Sarah Kemp aced the 147-yard par-3 third hole on Sunday of the Indy Women in Tech Championship driven by Group1001 for a total of $20,000 raised this week. There have been 24 aces made this season and a total of $480,000 donated thus far in 2019.
“That's fantastic, and they [CME] happen to be my sponsor, so that's just even cooler,” Kemp said. “But yeah, happy to help out. Yeah, that's awesome. I love it.”
LEADERS TOP 10 COMPETITION
The LEADERS Top 10 competition awards a $100,000 bonus to the LPGA player with the most top-10 finishes through the completion of the event held immediately prior to the CME Group Tour Championship. In the event of a tie in total top-10 finishes, the award will go to the player with the most official wins, followed by most second-place finishes, third-place finishes, etc., until the tie is broken.
With her solo eighth-place finish at the Indy Women in Tech Championship driven by Group1001, Hyo Joo Kim notched her 10th top-10 finish to move into a tie for first with Jin Young Ko and Brooke Henderson. With a T4 finish in Indianapolis, Megan Khang notched her sixth top-10 finish of the season tied with Yu Liu and Azahara Munoz.
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