LPGA DRIVE ON CHAMPIONSHIP

February 4, 2022

Marina Alex

Crown Colony Golf & Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Marina Alex, tied for the clubhouse lead after 36 holes. How are you feeling after two days here at Crown Colony?

MARINA ALEX: You know, it's been kind of just flowing, so that's great. A little tired. It's like a long day. Just up all day and just the rounds are a little bit on the longer side because long walks between, so I'm a little worn out right now.

I was kind of losing a little steam, but happy to finish birdie-birdie. I kind of like feel like I blacked out a little bit out there towards the end because I was so tired and I was like, All right, we're almost done.

Q. I was going to say, do you remember anything about those last two birdies?

MARINA ALEX: No, I do. I hit really, really nice shot on 8. I got lucky. I don't know in hindsight if I would've hit driver again because I was pretty close to the green but kind of missed it left, so I ended up being in the rough, which is not even really rough here. So it was just like a little more cushion under the ball.

Q. Uh-huh.

MARINA ALEX: It was a little softer so I was able to get some spin on my shot. But Pernilla was right down the middle and her shot was much more difficult because the lie was so tight, so definitely like kind of a good break. Like not a great tee shot that turned into a good break. Sometimes you just need that.

And then it was nice that 9 was straight downwind. So hit a great drive I had like 230 to the pin. There was that downslope, so just hit my 5-wood and kind of let the ball run up there.

It's dried out, which is great. I feel like on some holes you can play almost like links style out here because you can use the contours and the slopes to run up shots. So I really like that.

I feel like in some instances that's like the game I prefer, so it's kind of worked out a little bit.

Q. You got off to a hot start with the birdie on the first hole.

MARINA ALEX: Yes.

Q. How much did that help kick things off for you?

MARINA ALEX: Definitely. You know, that has been a birdie hole probably for most players this week. Just good momentum right out of the gate. It was really windy again today. There were some difficult holes middle of that back nine.

I think the best shot I hit all day was on 16 I believe, yeah.

Q. Birdie on the par-4?

MARINA ALEX: Yeah, I hit a pretty flarey drive to the right and got caught up in the wind, and then had 194 dead into the wind and hit a 3-wood over the bunker to about 12 feet and made birdie, which was like crazy.

That was definitely the best birdie of the day by far. That was coming off missing like a short putt for bogey, so I was a little rattled.

I feel like I need to work a little bit on my putting tomorrow just to feel like the comfort level that I had yesterday with it. I was definitely cruising yesterday on the greens. Today maybe not as sharp.

So I'm looking forward to working that out in the morning. It's dark now, so that won't happen.

Q. In contention both days.

MARINA ALEX: Yeah, it's cool.

Q. Playing some impressive golf, and will be in the final pairing tomorrow. What does that mean to you and the work you've been putting in lately?

MARINA ALEX: Yeah, it's been an interesting journey since -- definitely since Portland, and probably even since Solheim. Pretty much since the COVID happened I feel like things haven't really worked out in my favor, both physically and with my golf game, so it's good to feel good.

Knock on -- there is no wood -- but knock on wood. And I worked really hard with Claude Harmon, my coach middle of last year, but then specifically like once the season ended working on some changes in my swing that I feel will allow me to be a bit more consistent, which I'm hoping just really got grind on that tomorrow.

That's going to be my focus. I'm probably going to want to revert to some old tendencies and all that, so I really need to -- it's good. It'll keep me disciplined through my routine, which is really important, and I think that will be helpful to just kind of not worry about the result.

But the process of what I'm working on in my swing and just keep making improvements for the long haul.

Q. How well do you know Leona and what will it be like playing with her?

MARINA ALEX: Yeah, there is no leaderboards out here, so I had no idea. She obviously played great today. Awesome.

Yeah, I know Leona a little bit. We've got paired together a fair amount the last couple years. I really like her. She's awesome. She's a fiery girl, great competitor. It was fun watching her play Solheim, so I'm excited.

I don't know if we're playing two balls or three balls, but I'm excited to be out there with her tomorrow. That'll be a lot of fun.

Q. Stacy will be your third.

MARINA ALEX: Awesome. Great. Love Travis, love Stacy. A lot of good mojo there, too. You know, see what happens.

Q. How are you feeling going into tomorrow? I mean, you're tied. You guys are four ahead of everybody else.

MARINA ALEX: Yeah, like I haven't had a chance to really look, and there is really no indication out there of what's going on, which I don't really mind.

Like I got made fun of for Portland, but I truly didn't check a leaderboard when I played that last day at all. Maybe that's helping me just not really paying attention to that and just going out there and doing my business.

There is really nothing I can do because I have no idea what's going on, so that like is a good thing for me. So we'll just go out and have a good round tomorrow, all of us and just see what happens.