CANADIAN PACIFIC WOMEN'S OPEN

August 24, 2022

Megan Khang

The Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right, ready to go. Welcome to the media center and virtually. I'm here with Megan Khang. Alison Lee is working on locating her clubs, so it will just be Megan and I today. But, if you don't know here, Megan participated yesterday in our Guinness World Record attempt. For a couple minutes there you were a world record holder.

MEGAN KHANG: For just over three minutes.

THE MODERATOR: For just over three minutes. So tell us how in the event was and what your expectations were and how it turned out to be.

MEGAN KHANG: Honestly, it was so much fun. We did it the true Canadian ways with the golf clubs, putting them in the middle and kind of splitting them up. That's how we got our teams. That itself was pretty cool.

You get up there and it had to be as least I think 165 yards to like 180. Thankfully like I wasn't hitting, so, yeah, my team was Pauline -- I can't pronounce her last name. I think it's Roussin Bouchard.

So my team was Pauline and Rebecca Lee-Bentham. We lost the coin toss and so we had to go first, and I would like to think that we helped Alison, Jennifer, and A Lim kind of see how to play the hole.

But, no, it is a ton of fun out there. There was some trash talking out there for sure. I mean, you don't realize how quickly three minutes goes.

THE MODERATOR: Yeah. I was on the tee box so I heard a little trash talk up there, but I didn't hear any on the green. What were you guys saying to each other, especially when the other team was on the green? What were you putting out there?

MEGAN KHANG: Oh, yeah, for sure. Like Alison and I are really good friends and I was like -- she was hitting the second shot and I was like, oh, make sure you read it from like everywhere. Oh, take your time. Don't forget practice strokes. Oh, one is really fast, this one is slow.

So it was really funny and she was like, oh, my gosh, be quiet. Alison was making a ton of putts. I wish she was here so she could tell you. I think third team actually made at least two or three birdies, so I think that's why they got the extra hole in I'll say.

THE MODERATOR: Your trash talk was motivation. Alison hit two birdies.

MEGAN KHANG: Yeah, I was like, what is going on. I was like, yeah, it's because we gave the read; we get the honorary mention. Like when they were giving the plaques I was like, okay, you can thank your coaches, us three up here for showing you how it's done.

Now, it was a ton of fun, and congrats to them. Not many people who can say they're world record holders.

THE MODERATOR: I hear that you are going to get a plaque as well because you held the record at some point.

MEGAN KHANG: I held the record at some point, ahh.

THE MODERATOR: You broke the record first.

MEGAN KHANG: Technically.

THE MODERATOR: So you were the first record holder. For those of you that don't know, the record was how many times the par-3 17th could be completed in three minutes. They finished it five times.

MEGAN KHANG: Get to five and we lost by one. They literally came down to the last second and it was exciting.

THE MODERATOR: Yeah. How many times did you think you would be able to do it going in? I know you had to do it last least three times.

MEGAN KHANG: Honestly, I didn't realize that the record was three beforehand. I think I kind of was too preoccupied putting the helmet on on the tee box. It was cool. They had like goalie helmets, and I really just wanted to try it on. It was like 7:00 in the morning; just wanted to do it.

No, I mean, we realized by the green that it was like pretty long hole, so we were just trying to come up with a strategy. We were like, okay, maybe we can do this probably like I would say four, five times. Then I think it kind of hit. The pressure hit when it was like, okay, the horn blew and we were like, okay, we got to go, we got to go.

It's a lot of pressure because, I mean, if the second person doesn't make it -- you know, like I was hitting third and I was like, I have to make this to count. I was stressed. Thankfully Rebecca was lag putting really well and didn't leave me a ton of testers.

I definitely think if we do it again we're going to have more prep and a little better strategy. I'm just going to rapid fire.

THE MODERATOR: Do you now have a statistical advantage do you think on playing 17 this week?

MEGAN KHANG: I would say the short putts. Like I said, I didn't do the lag putts nor did I hit the ball. I mean, I had club problems as well. My clubs didn't make my flight. Flight coming here was canceled, so I had to drive from Toronto to here. Got in at 1:30 in the morning. Monday was a washout. I didn't have clubs.

Then Tuesday morning I got a notification saying that my clubs had arrived in Ottawa, so I sent my caddie to go get my got clubs. Thankfully he got them in time.

I said, I'm for sure not hitting because I haven't hit balls in two and a half days. So, you know, Pauline was striking them very well; so was Kupcho. I thought we were going to see a hole in one out there.

THE MODERATOR: Yeah, very good ball striking from both her and Jennifer Kupcho. What did you think of 17 itself? Do you like the rink out there?

MEGAN KHANG: Oh, that was so cool. I think that's going to be a ton of fun this week. I mean, I played in a practice round yesterday on the front nine and I was joking with the guys who were on 17. You forgot on the golf course that 17 is kind of like the hockey rink hole. We kept hearing banging and I was like, what is going on? Is there a truck? Thunder? I was like, oh, I know it's 17.

Like I walked over jokingly and I was like, all right guys, the slamming is a little weak. We're going to have to work on that this week.

So it's going to be a lot of the fun. I think the crowd will love it, I think the players will love it, and it's great opportunity for us to interactive with the crowd.

Q. Obviously golfers grow up hoping to win a major, a tournament at the highest professional levels, make the Olympics. What about being a world record holder? Had that ever figured into your golfing dreams before this week?

MEGAN KHANG: I didn't realize there was a world record in the golf world, like in that kind of aspect. I know there is a lot of different world records out there.

But, no, I definitely wanted to be a world record holder. I was like, I'm ready to go. Round two, let's go. I'm super competitive like that.

But given an opportunity, if there happens to be another chance to be a world record holder, it's something not many people get to say. It's something that would be pretty cool to add to the resume.

Q. What was the most difficult part of the challenge itself? Sounds, I don't want to say more physical than regular golf, but like having the clock on I am sure adds a new wrinkle.

MEGAN KHANG: I think the hard part was I have terrible eyesight. I lost the ball a lot in the sky. I told my caddie, you have to tell me if I'm going to get hit or not. They're all so good so I wasn't too worried.

For me personally it was the fact that I was the last person it, and if I missed the putt then it's like, oh, that's my fault, and then it didn't count. So I was stressed out about that. I think Rebecca was like, yeah, I don't want to be the last one so I'm going second. I was like, okay. All right. Put the pressure on.

I was like, just make them for me. No, it was a lot of fun and it's a little different. It brings more fun atmosphere and it's -- again, a different side to golf that you don't get to see often.

THE MODERATOR: Last question from me. About the tournament, CP Women's Open, obviously this is one of the fun things that this tournament does. They've got a lot of builds, other activations going on. What do you enjoy about playing here and what are you looking forward to this week?

MEGAN KHANG: Honestly, I miss coming to Canada. Every time we do come it's a great crowd, great atmosphere, great people. You know, they always welcome us with open arms, whether it's in Vancouver, Toronto, here.

You know, I think Canada, we always call this Canada's major, and it's like the honorary major to us. So just being back in Canada means a lot to me. It's so cool to be back out here, and it's really cool see Brooke's Brigade. I mean, Brooke and I've been friends for a while. I always joke with her, I'm like, oh, I can fit underneath the height requirement to go in there, and she jokes with me.

But definitely excited to be back. Canada is definitely one that I don't really try to miss.

THE MODERATOR: Perfect. Thank you so much, Megan.