Megan Khang birdied four of her last five holes en route to a 4-under 68 on Saturday to stay atop the leaderboard after three rounds of action at the CPKC Women’s Open in Vancouver.
After grabbing a one-stroke lead after two rounds, Khang totaled six birdies against two bogeys to move to 11-under 205 for the tournament. She holds a three-stroke lead over South Korea’s Sei Young Kim, who matched Saturday’s low round with a 5-under 67 at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club.
“It was huge,” Khang said of her strong finish. “I mean, with I want to say 13 being reachable, I had a feeling like a lot of people, a lot of the longer hitters were going to be able to get to that green, possibly make eagle, if not birdie or par.
“And I just wanted to give myself a chance up there. I knew where the pin was it was gettable. Yeah, I mean, that kind of started it all. I had to hit some really good shots going in; missed few good putts.”
The highlight of the day came at the par-3 eighth, where Kim recorded a hole-in-one. She also eagled the par-4 14th and picked up three birdies to help combat a pair of bogeys.
“That hole kind of is not easy because to the pin is 160 meters,” Kim said of No. 8. “I took the 5-iron and hit the really solid, ball flight really awesome.
“A lot of people like louder so it sounds like it’s got in. … So, yeah, feel great, awesome.”
Fellow South Korean Jin Young Ko is in sole possession of third after firing a 71 on Saturday. She sits five shots back at 6 under 210.
Japan’s Yuka Saso (72 on Saturday) and England’s Georgia Hall (70) are tied for fourth. Jodi Ewart Shadoff of England matched Kim’s 67 to shoot 27 spots up the leaderboard into sixth, one stroke ahead of Australian Hannah Green (72).
The Swedish duo of Linnea Strom and Linn Grant struggled, as Strom shot a 1-over 73 and Grant posted a 4-over 76. They both sit T8 with Jeongeun Lee6 of South Korea (71).
Seven players, including World No. 2 Nelly Korda, are tied for 11th at 1 under.
–Field Level Media