VANCOUVER (AFP) — A late birdie burst saw Megan Khang hold off a hard-charging Kim Sei-young on Saturday, taking a three-shot lead in the LPGA CPKC Women’s Canadian Open over the South Korean whose two eagles included a hole-in-one.
America’s Khang, chasing a first LPGA title, birdied four of the last five holes on the way to a four-under par 68 in the third round Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club.
She built an 11-under par total of 205 and despite a mid-round wobble ably withstood the pressure Kim piled on with a five-under par 67 for eight-under 208.
Filipina Bianca Pagdanganan faltered with a 73 on the penultimate day to stumble to a share of 24th place at one-over 217.
Former world number one Ko Jin-young was alone in third after a 71 for 210 while England’s Georgia Hall and Yuka Saso shared fourth on 211.
“Honestly, (I’m) relieved that the day is over,” Khang said. “It was kind of like you look at the leaderboard and you know who is behind you and you try to ignore it as much as you can, but it’s kind of scary.”
On a day when low scores were hard to come by, Kim launched her climb by gaining four strokes in the space of three holes, sandwiching birdies at seven and nine around her hole in one at the 184-yard par-three eighth.
