It was almost exactly two years ago when Kaylee Chung stood just outside the ropes at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club and watched many of the LPGA Tour’s top players tackle her home course during the CPKC Women’s Open.
Chung remembers thinking about how cool it would be if one day she got to play alongside them. Well, that day has come sooner than she ever would have imagined.
The 17-year-old Lord Byng Secondary student is having that dream come true this week in Portland, Ore., where she is part of the 144-player field at the Standard Portland Classic.
“There are no words to explain this moment,” Chung said in a telephone interview from Portland. “It’s priceless to get this experience. I have dreamed about this moment for a very long time. This was so unexpected and I am honoured to play this week. It’s a very crazy thing to happen.”
Chung played her way into the event by winning the Les Schwab Amateur Open in late June at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland. She won the event in a playoff after shooting a five-under 67.
This week’s event is being played at the same Columbia Edgewater layout, which should help calm Chung’s nerves. She played well there once before, so why not do it again. Of course, Columbia Edgewater will be set up longer for the Portland Classic.
“For the Les Schwab I think it was playing between 6,000 and 6,100 yards, but for the LPGA event it will be about 6,500,” Chung said. “I played from the designated tee boxes in my practice round today and it didn’t feel too much longer. I have been practising a lot from longer distances at Shaughnessy, so I feel ready.”
Chung likes the fact that Columbia Edgewater is similar in many respects to Shaughnessy. Both were designed by A.V. Macan. “It really reminds me of my home course, Shaughnessy. It’s a tight tree-lined layout, which is challenging but I really like it. And the course is in really good condition.”
Chung travelled to Portland on Sunday with her mom, dad and brother. Her coach, Brian Jung, is also in Portland and her future collegiate coach, Lauren Dobashi of San Diego State is making the trip north to watch the first round. Chung, who is heading into Grade 12, committed to San Diego State last fall and will join the program in the fall of 2026.
She played a practice round on Monday, plans another one on Tuesday and will likely just play nine holes on Wednesday. “I played with (South Korea’s) Haeran Ryu for my practice round today and she was one of the players I really wanted to meet,” Chung said. “I also met Rose Zhang today, so I got those two people checked off my bucket list. I really, really want to play with Jin Young Ko and maybe Lilia Vu.”
She has a practice round scheduled for Tuesday with South Korea’s Jeong Eun Lee 6, who won the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open. Chung has been preparing for this event since the day she qualified. Still, she knows there will be some first-tee jitters. “I feel like I will be very nervous on the first tee because obviously the audience is a lot bigger. I will try to just play my game, but there will be distractions. I am just going to focus on the golf ball.
“I have been training really hard for this event specifically. I just want to go out there, have fun, learn and play my best golf and come back home with no regrets. I am trying to remember that I qualified to be here, so there’s no pressure. I will try to just focus on all the positives.”
Chung also knows she must temper her expectations this week. “Obviously I go to every tournament with a winning mindset but for this one obviously winning would be great, but that’s probably a little far off for me. I really want to make the cut. I am pretty sure I am the youngest in the field, so I really want to say hi to the world.”
CHIP SHOTS: Four other Canadians are in the Portland field: Brooke Henderson; Alena Sharp; Savannah Grewal and Maude-Aimee Leblanc. Henderson is a two-time winner of the Portland event. . .Kiara Romero, the University of Oregon junior who is now the top-ranked amateur in the world, is also in the field. Chung beat her by two shots at the Les Schwab event in June.