MARATHON CLASSIC PRESENTED BY DANA

August 6, 2020

Megan Khang

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Megan Khang after a bogey-free 65. Nice little round out there today. How comfortable were you feeling?

MEGAN KHANG: Not comfortable at all. It's still new, getting back into the swing of things.

Kurt and I been working hard on working with my swing just during the practice rounds and stuff like that; really committing to the shots and just kind of went out there with open mind going, Whatever happens, happens.

Had a good round last week at Inverness, so that carried on to this week. Just tried to have fun out there. Just give myself opportunities and try to capitalize when we could.

Q. T11 finish last week at Inverness. I know this kind of plays differently at Highland Meadows than Inverness Club, but what did you take away from your first tournament back?

MEGAN KHANG: Definitely took away that my putting has been pretty good. I know at Inverness we had to do a lot of lag putting where -- into the middle of the green and then just accept par on a lot those holes.

So being confident with my putting definitely helped coming into this week, and just kind of really putting everything together last round definitely brought more of a confident swing this week.

Q. When did you really get focused again for that competitive mindset during the break? We have been off for so long. When did it feel real that you were coming back to the LPGA Tour?

MEGAN KHANG: When I was on the first tee of the event. Yeah, didn't really kick in until like we got to the tournament, to the practice rounds, and then we got to the 1st hole and I go, Kurt, I'm nervous. This is weird. Felt like rookie year all over again.

Overall I was definitely more excited than nervous to come back out, and to have that T11 finish after not having the best feeling to start was definitely helpful.

Q. I know you said you weren't comfortable out there, but you were definitely having plenty of fun. We saw some waves to the nonexistent fans out here at Marathon. What's that like? Usually this place is filled to the brim with fans, and you were still able to get some laughs in.

MEGAN KHANG: No, it's definitely different not having fans. I mean, I know we have volunteers out there, and to be fair, there were like two people outside the fence like in their yard that I saw, so I was waving to them. I'm not crazy. That crazy yet.

But, no, overall it's still fun out here. I joke with my caddie. Like, Oh, he's got to be my fan, my caddie, my cheerleader all at the same time. I always put him in a predicament where he's got five different hats on.

It's just fun, and I'm happy to be out here enjoying it.

Q. You're one of the only ones in this afternoon wave to really go as low as you did. What do you think was the difference for the afternoon wave compared some of the morning rounds?

MEGAN KHANG: You know, I honestly didn't even look at the scoreboard yet. I know we're allowed to during the round. I just been too preoccupied talking a lot. I think the difference is really just knowing when and when not to attack the pins.

Obviously in the afternoon it firms up and you're going to have to play for like a little more release. But in the end, just constantly give yourself opportunities and just knowing like, I need to make par in certain situations and I can be aggressive here with a shorter club in.

Q. You mentioned with your swing you're working on your takeaway? What made you come to that realization that you had to work on the swing? What was the tipping point?

MEGAN KHANG: So my dad and I been working on my swing a lot during this quarantine. Unfortunately, like I wasn't feeling super great coming out, but I knew once I got back out here everything would come back to normal.

Again, I can always message my dad when I have an issue, which is a great perk.

Like Kurt, I tell Kurt what I'm working on, so I always make sure he knows that we're on the same page when it comes to the swing and playing and just kind of feeling confident over the ball. That's really all you need out here, is a lot of confidence and belief in yourself.

Q. When you have that, how tough is it to balance the fact that you're quarantining so you have so many chances to swing and you don't lose your mind, but you also work on what you need to work on?

MEGAN KHANG: I mean, it's definitely different from practicing versus competitive golf. Practice all you want and then -- like at the range everyone is a great golfer. Transitioning back to the golf course is probably the hardest thing you can do.

For me, that was the main, I guess, problem. It's not really a problem, but struggle for me coming out. And I think just kind of having the reassurance of Kurt and myself, just giving myself a pep talk every time before a shot definitely helped.

And just kind of, again, being happy, being free, and just excited to be back out.

Q. What was your eagle like on 5?

MEGAN KHANG: Oh, it was great actually, because the hole before I like drop kicked the same iron left. So it was great. It felt great. I knew like I needed to hit a good one. It was funny because Kurt and I were talking about another incident right before us hitting and he was like, Oh, what were you thinking over the shot? I was like, Oh, I was like still thinking about what we were talking about. Like I never seem to think about ton of golf.

Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It just so that happened I was very off distance on my thoughts on that swing. So it was great. Had a great shot, great line, and kind of waited for a second and saw the ball disappear.

I definitely waved to a few fans out there that weren't there on that one.

Q. You and Kurt seemed really close. When did you guys start going out on the course together and practicing for the past two weeks together?

MEGAN KHANG: I saw him Tuesday of last week. We both knew that we couldn't get on the course until Monday evening, and he was like, Okay, I'll see you Tuesday. I was like, Oh, okay. So I didn't see him until Tuesday.

Then he walked in the morning, and then we kind of just picked up off where we last left off. Kurt and I been working together for two and a half years and we know each other pretty well. We know I do a lot of the talking and he does a lot of the listening. One ear out the other.

It's just a lot of fun. A lot of conversations out there are funny and enjoyable. But no, no, it's good to have a friend on the bag.