Natasha Oon could feel the cut line staring at her after an opening round of two-under par, 68 at the CPKC Women’s Open and she stared right back. Unphased by the daunting prospect of missing a fourth consecutive cut, Oon rallied with a bogey-free, five-under par round of 65 to play her way not just into the weekend, but into contention with 36-holes to play at Royal Mayfair Golf Club.

“Honestly, I’m just so glad I get to enjoy a weekend,” Oon said about making her first cut on the LPGA Tour since the ShopRite LPGA powered by Wakefern in May. “Like really, really happy.”

The rookie began her round on the back nine and began with a string of four consecutive pars before finding a spark at the par four, 14th hole where she rolled in her first birdie of the day. She kept the momentum rolling by making another birdie at the par four, 15th followed by a long-breaking, right to left putt for her third birdie in a row at the par four, 16th. Oon turned to her caddie with putter in one hand and a fist clenched in the other and pumped them both in the air in celebration, an act she repeated as she rolled in her fourth birdie of the day at the par three, seventh where she hit her tee shot inside six feet. She capped off her near flawless day with a 15-footer at the par four, eighth for a fifth birdie of the day and a bogey-free round in which she needed just 28 putts.

“You see the cut staring at you, but you’re hitting good shots,” Oon said about her mindset on Friday. “I didn’t feel really comfortable out there, but I was just more like, if I could kind of just commit to a shot then that’s really all I could do. I really, really trusted myself out there. It’s really nice to see that.”

It was a trust not just in herself but in the work Oon has been putting in on improving her game.

After missing her third consecutive cut a week ago in Portland, Oon took to social media as she so often does to share insights into her day. While she admitted to being disappointed she didn’t want to have missing yet another cut define her. Instead, she took an opportunity to seize the extra time she had been given before heading to Edmonton for the CPKC Women’s Open and went sightseeing, visiting places that she said she’d never have been able to see had she not missed the cut. Oon’s positive spin on a disappointing situation no doubt paid dividends this week as that new mindset led to a turning point in her year.

“The work is always there, even if you don’t see it,” Oon said about her success the past two days. “I actually played I think really well last week and I wasn’t feeling off at all. I was just kind of like ahhhh. You know, it didn’t make sense a little bit. I felt good. I played good. This is a nice time for things to come together and it’s really nice to see everything tie up really well.”

Friday, Oon played with a little extra motivation as the round was designated CPKC Birdies for Heart Day in which any birdie made by an LPGA Tour player would result in a donation of $1,500 to $500,000 towards children’s cardiac care.

“I went low and I hope a lot of people also go low because it’s for a good cause,” Oon said about the five birdies she made on Friday. “It’s just a fun way to interact and help the kids and golf is so much bigger than me and that golf is contributing to a great cause. It’s great.”

Natasha Oon Stares Down Cut Line, Vaults into Contention with 65 in Canada

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