Megan Khang can’t help but smile.

The 36-hole co-leader at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open has done nothing but try her very best to have fun with the blustery, tricky conditions at Dundonald Links the last two days. The emotional effort has worked out just fine for Khang and paid dividends. She shot a second-round 68 Friday, tied for the low round of the day, and sits on top of the leaderboard alongside Minjee Lee heading into the weekend.

“Honestly, I’m really trying to have a lot of fun out there. It’s not often I’m hitting a 7-iron to a 116 (yard) pin,” Khang said. “I’m really comfortable with how my ball-striking is. Fortunately, I've been able to hit some good shots and really trust myself out there and make some long putts here and there but overall, really trying to enjoy it and make the most of it because it's tough for everyone.”

Khang missed only two greens and two fairways in her second round at Dundonald Links and made six birdies to two bogeys. She chipped in for birdie for the second day in a row, this time on the par-5 3rd hole, throwing it just past the pin and watching it spin back to the bottom of the cup.

Khang said she hit a good drive down the middle of the fairway on No. 3 but was “at the mercy of the bounce,” and her ball ended up in the fairway bunker. She popped it out and had 210 yards to the front of the green and 220 yards to the pin. She thought she could get there and ended up 30 yards short. The wind was directly in her face, and she was just trying to give herself the best opportunity for par at that point.

“Fortunately, it was my second hole-out of the week for birdie, and it’s stuff like that that kind of gets a round going, especially it being my third hole,” Khang said. “It's tough out there. I was in the mindset of let's try to hit it close and make par. Again, hit a really good chip and bounced back and spun a little back into the hole. So, stuff like that kind of helps you stay within yourself and not get too frustrated out there, even though you hit a good tee shot and may not get the bounce you want, you can always hole out from anywhere.”

Her 4-under round Friday was seven shots better than the field average.

Khang’s best finish at the Women’s Scottish Open game a few years ago when she tied for 24th. She is looking for her first win on the LPGA Tour since she broke through for her maiden title last year at the CPKC Women’s Open.

Khang said she’s been hitting the ball “pretty solid” all year, and she is indeed correct as KPMG Performance Insights show that Khang is second on the LPGA Tour in strokes gained tee to green and fifth in strokes gained approach. But the difference for her has been with the putter. She’s 149th in strokes gained putting for the season but said this week she has been making putts when she needs to.

On top of her fine tee-to-green game and her improved putting performance, embracing what Mother Nature is giving her this week has been key for Khang. It’s a plan she’s going to try to keep up over the next two days at Dundonald Links as she works to capture her second Tour title.

“It's kind of crazy. I'm aiming 30 or 40 yards right of the pin and to be able to pull off a shot, it's a huge confidence boost. You just laugh, like ‘Wow, I can't believe that actually worked sometimes.’ And so just having a mindset, all right, let's really trust it and have some fun,” Khang said. “It's going to be fun, but it's also going to be a challenge that you just have to look at the bright side of things.”

When the leaderboard says you've finished at -7 but you aren't done yet; sink the birdie and tell them to fix it 😤 @megan_khang1023 pic.twitter.com/NkLd6YQCdU
— LPGA (@LPGA) August 16, 2024

Megan Khang Having Fun in Tough Conditions at Dundonald Links

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