All week long in Hawaii, Megan Khang has been living like a local. And now, she has a great chance to close out the week celebrating like one.

Khang fired a 5-under 67 on Friday at the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei and is just one shot back of the lead heading into the 18-hole finale in Hawaii as she hunts for her first LPGA Tour title since the 2023 CPKC Women’s Open.

Khang, who shot a 6-under 66 in the second round, opened with three birdies in a row on Friday. She gave one back on the par-4 6th hole before making three birdies in a four-hole stretch from Nos. 10 to 13. She added one more circle on the card on the par-5 18th just for good measure.

“Just find the fairways and greens a little bit,” Khang said after round three. “Left a few putts short today. Kind of in the heart, so it always hurts a little, but happy to put together a solid round with the conditions that we had.”

The good vibes are flowing off the course as well, as Khang is spending her overnights at the home of Allisen Corpuz, who also sits in a tie for 21st through 54 holes and who Khang counts as one of her very best friends.

“Her and her family do the most by opening their doors to me, to say the least,” Khang said. “I've been jokingly singing ‘I'm an island girl’ this whole week. It's cool being here in Hawaii. There's not really a bad spot on the island, I would have to say.

“I know I've been kind of dragging (Corpuz) around. I know she's from here, so she's probably tired of me making her go to some spots she probably went to her whole life, but that's what a good friend is for, and she's been a good sport.”

It’s been as steady a season as any for Khang, as she was sitting third in strokes gained tee to green and third in strokes gained approach before competing in Hawaii this week. If anything has held her back this year, it’s been her putting, as she is 145th on Tour in strokes gained: putting. But she needed just 26 putts Friday to climb 10 spots on the leaderboard at the LOTTE Championship.

Khang said she’s also been working hard on giving herself grace through the day-in and day-out grind of professional golf. It’s not easy out on the LPGA Tour, of course, and Khang admitted that when she gives herself a chance to zoom out and realize what a thrill it is to do what she’s able to do for a living, there are plenty of parts of this profession that spark joy.

That attitude adjustment has helped Khang to record five top 10s this season and 10 top 25s in just 17 starts. That included a playoff loss alongside Lexi Thompson at the Dow Championship.

“I probably have to give a lot to treating golf as something I do and not everything about me,” Khang said. “I love competing, love being out here. At the same time, I can't be too mad about a bad day in the office. It's still just playing golf.”

“I think I'm just enjoying it a lot more.”

Khang has had plenty to enjoy through three rounds in Hawaii – and now has a tremendous chance to try to find the winner’s circle once again.

“I think it's pretty cool that with the year that I've had, obviously trying to get the second win of my career,” Khang said. “At the same time, it's not really everything, and I’m really enjoying the ride and the journey instead of focusing on the end results.”

And given how Khang is playing so far this week, however, her end result come Saturday night may see her say ‘aloha’ to a trophy once again on the LPGA Tour.

Megan Khang Hoping to Break Through While Living Like a Local in Hawaii

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