Megan Khang continued her impressive play at the Portland Classic, finishing with an 18-foot birdie putt to secure a one-stroke lead on Saturday. This follows her recent victory at the CPKC Women’s Open, marking her first LPGA Tour win. Both courses, Columbia Edgewater and Shaughnessy, were designed by A.V. Macan and boast towering trees. Khang expressed confidence in her game, stating that her win last week has given her a belief in her ability to succeed on the tour.
Hyo Joon Jang of South Korea and Chanettee Wannasaen of Thailand were tied for second place. Jang, ranked 488th in the world, had an impressive round with 11 birdies and just one bogey. Meanwhile, the 19-year-old Wannasaen, ranked 367th, had a solid round with a score of 65. This comes after a series of missed cuts on the LPGA Tour, but her performance in the Monday qualifier gave her the confidence she needed to compete.
Khang made a strong surge on the back nine of the course, finishing with a 5-under 31 to reach a total score of 18 under. She plans to take the lessons learned from her win last week into this tournament, acknowledging that the leaderboard is crowded and anyone has a chance to come out on top.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda sits in fourth place at 15 under after a 66, while Xiyu Lin, Atthaya Thitikul, Ruoning Yin, and Gina Kim round out the top finishers at 14 under. Perrine Delacour, who led after the first two rounds, struggled on Saturday, dropping to a tie for 16th place at 11 under.
Caroline Inglis, a member of Columbia Edgewater and former University of Oregon player, finished tied for 58th place at 5 under. She resides in Vancouver, Washington, just across the Columbia River from the tournament site.