CROMVOIRT, Netherlands — Megan Khang is known for her bubbly, energetic personality, which is a perfect fit in the U.S. team room at the Solheim Cup. But Khang also brings her tough, edgy Boston side, and that’s exactly what’s needed for pressure-filled matches at a Solheim Cup.
Khang thrives in match play and has proven her success as she’s 7-3-3 in four Solheim Cup appearances. She’s never lost a singles match.
“She is the straw that stirs the drink,” U.S. captain Angela Stanford said after picking Khang for her team to play at Bernardus Golf. “I mean, this young lady, she’s the battery that makes us go and when you travel, you have to take your own energy. She’s our battery, she makes us go and she’s shown it through all of her Solheim Cup appearances.
“Her teammates love her, her teammates want her in the room and then she gets there and her record’s pretty good.”
The 28-year-old Khang still lives in Boston. Because of that, she’s a rarity in professional golf. She didn’t move to Arizona, Nevada, Texas or Florida, like so many of her peers who enjoy no state taxes and golf weather year-round.
Maddie Meyer
“I love living in Boston,” Khang said. “I was born and raised out there. I love the four seasons. I enjoy it so much. I still love the snowboard. I still love the winter activities. My family and boyfriend would gladly move to Florida if I said, ‘let's go.’ I like having a little break from golf. I don't feel guilty about not practicing when it's 70 out in December. I think it's nice because it's something that I hold near and dear just because it's all I've ever known.
“I have a lot of extended family in Rhode Island. I like to see them a lot. We're all getting older. We're all trying to stay in touch a lot more. Everyone's working, and I'm always gone, so when I'm home, I like to spend time with people I love.”
Asked what’s the most Boston thing about her, Khang decided it was swearing, which usually comes out mostly when she’s driving.
“The way I can cuss like a sailor, for lack of better words,” Khang said. “I can get a little carried away with it once in a while. It's all in good fun. I'm never actually truly angry. For the most part, it comes out a little too nonchalantly once in a while. Then I’ve got to check myself.”
Khang checked the score of her beloved New England Patriots, who played the NFL's season opener in the middle of the night while she was sleeping in the Netherlands. She didn’t watch the game but she did see that quarterback Drake Maye threw an interception in the waning seconds to deliver the victory to Seattle. She spun it in a positive way and said it’s only Week 1 in the NFL. She’s learned plenty of lessons from the Patriots over the years—and her parents—that can be used this weekend during heated matches.
“I grew up in the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era, where ‘do your job’ was the main mantra, and it’s what my parents instilled in me, too,” Khang said. “They said everything is earned, not given. It’s words to live by. Do your job.”
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Khang is a cool customer on the golf course and, as Stanford described, a beloved teammate. She has a lot of good experiences to drawn on as she’s won one LPGA event, earned $7.9 million in her career and has 47 career top-10 finishes. This season she hit a rough patch, missing seven of eight cuts before the FM Championship in Boston. In her hometown, she tied for 27th just before coming to the Netherlands.
Khang can shed that challenging stretch with another fine Solheim Cup performance. The match-play format is not for everyone, but the pressure-packed event certainly seems to be for her.
“I love match play. It’s so fun, you know?” Khang said. “You could have a great hole and your opponent can bogey, and you're like, ‘wow, that was such a great hole, but I'm only 1 up.’ And vice versa. I could have a really bad hole and my opponent could birdie, and it’s like, ‘I'm only 1 down.’
“I think being able to just let that go so quickly, it's so fun. Normally, I'd be, like, a two to three-shot swing, and you're going, ‘Shoot, I’ve got to kick my butt into high gear.’ Stuff like that. I can easily come back from 1 down. It's a different mental side of the game. It's a lot more fun, because as soon as you can let it go, the better it is. I've kind of enjoyed that kind of side of golf.”
Khang won't play in the morning foursomes when the Solheim Cup tees off on Friday, but she’ll surely be in the mix in the afternoon fourball matches.
Maddie Meyer
“I would love to play with any of these girls, so no matter what, it'll be a good day,” Khang said. “I think our whole team, anyone can play with anyone. We're playing for more than just us, and so we all know that, and we're all doing our best. I don't think anyone on this team would hate to play with anyone, so I think when you have that kind of environment, you have these kind of teammates, it's going to be a great week.”
Khang was on the winning U.S. team in 2024 in Virginia, where she went unbeaten, going 3-0-0. She’s playing in her fifth Solheim Cup and her reliability in this event is often overshadowed by stars like Nelly Korda and Alison Lee. Her value to the team, however, is hugely important even if she’s not the one in the headlines.
And part of what suits her is home, even if many a friend on tour has tried to convince her to move to a warmer state.
“I've had a bunch of friends trying to get me to move to Vegas and Florida as well,” Khang said. “I was like, ‘no, this is great. Now I can visit you and make trips out there and hopefully let me stay with you.’ Obviously, they try with their taxes and stuff like that. I happily pay my taxes and enjoy living where home is home.”