Through two rounds at the Palos Verdes Championship presented by Bank of America, American Megan Khang sits in a tie for second at -6. The 24-year-old backed up her first-round, 4-under 67 with a 2-under 69 on Friday, making five birdies and three bogeys, and is three back of leader Hannah Green heading into the weekend at Palos Verdes Golf Club. While her best finish so far this season is a T17 at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and although she missed the cut at last week’s DIO Implant LA Open, Khang appears to have found something with her game that’s allowed her to rattle off consecutive rounds in the 60s for the first time since the Honda LPGA Thailand.
“Any time I shoot a round under par it's a great day,” said Khang who hit 12 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens on day two. “As a golfer, we're never satisfied so we're just going to pick up some lessons along the way and try to learn from them and really remind myself to take my time out there because these greens do get bumpy and a little slow towards the afternoon so I got to take a mental note of that and actually apply it instead of just saying it. I've missed a couple more cuts that I'm used to already this season. Honestly, I've taken a lot of positives even from the missed cuts and I'm very happy with the way my golf is trending.”
Though Khang has carded 24 career top-10s since her rookie year in 2016 and is a two-time United States Solheim Cup team member, hers is a name that you don’t always see at the top of the leaderboard sitting in a tie with three major champions. But that doesn’t faze Khang. As she prepares for more bumpy Poa annua greens and chilly, windy conditions on Saturday and Sunday, she’s focused on readying her putting for afternoon play at Palos Verdes Golf Club, with a special emphasis on speed control.
“Everyone kind of told us that the afternoon definitely picks up, and they were absolutely right about that,” she said. “There were some shots out there that I thought I hit perfect and I either left it a little short or went a little past. Everyone is playing in that condition in the afternoon so you just have to embrace it. I left quite a few putts short today that in the morning I definitely would've got to the hole or gotten a little past it. Every time we step on these greens, a little less people given the cut, but going to have to make a mental note of that and pay attention to where people have been stepping and try to get the right bounces on the greens.”
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