At 17, Megan Khang turned down a full ride to Wake Forest, skipped college entirely, and turned pro the week before the final stage of LPGA Q-school. She earned her full tour card on the first try. Now in her 11th season, she is an LPGA Tour winner, a US Solheim Cup player, and the first golfer of Hmong descent to compete on the LPGA Tour.

In this episode I sit down with Megan to unpack the family behind that decision. Her dad left his job as an auto mechanic to learn golf. Her mom taught kindergarten and never let the grades slip. And instead of hiding the family finances, her parents put them on the table. Megan says that honesty is exactly what taught her to perform under pressure.

🎯 Key Takeaways

- Why financial honesty at home built Megan's ability to handle tour-level pressure

- Her dad's rule: if you try your best and lose, that's fine. Not trying your best is the problem

- The after-school system that got her through AP classes while missing 12 to 14 school days a year for tournaments

- Why Megan refuses to be "Megan Khang the golfer" and how separating identity from results protects her game

- Swing at 80 percent, Annika's think box and play box, and the putting question that changed everything: how would you putt if you knew it was going in?

- A full week in the life on the LPGA Tour, from coffee crawls on Mondays to her exact 60-minute warm-up

- The PXG story and her dad's motto: the worst they can say is no

⏱ Episode Chapters

00:00 Welcome to The Golf Parent

01:03 Skipping college: the Wake Forest visit that changed everything

03:52 Turning pro at 17 with no safety net

04:27 The Bahamas, a 5 grand hotel bill, and a tied 11th finish

07:46 Where her pressure tolerance came from

10:32 Why her dad chose golf: the scholarship plan that became a career13:53 An only child's perfect sport

16:20 Balancing school and elite junior golf

21:06 Raising kids with grit: tough love, honesty, and no sugarcoating

28:36 Gratitude as a performance tool

30:48 "I don't view myself as the golfer": identity and pressure

36:38 Best swing advice she ever got: swing at 80 percent

38:39 The mental game: turning bad lies into highlight reels

40:50 Putting free: what if you knew it was going in?

43:19 A week in the life of an LPGA pro

48:21 Her exact tournament morning warm-up

55:37 The PXG story: the worst they can say is no

58:32 Megan's advice for junior golfers

🙏 Sponsor

This episode is brought to you by Craftsman Golf. Use code GOLFPARENT for 15 percent off at craftsmangolf.com.

📲 Connect with Megan Khang

Instagram: @megan_khang

📲 Connect with The Golf Parent

Instagram: @golf.parent

Website: thegolfparent.com