THE ASCENDANT LPGA BENEFITING VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA

October 5, 2023

Marina Alex

Golf Clubs at The Tribute

Quick Quotes

Q. Joined by Marina Alex. Marina, just what was working so well in your opening round here? I mean, only one bogey. What did you have, four five birdies on the round?

MARINA ALEX: Yeah.

Q. What worked so well?

MARINA ALEX: Five birdies and a bogey on the last. Kind of just miss-club off the tee and went through the fairway and kind of was blocked, so bogey is kind of expected at that point.

I just played well. I mean, I hit good drives, good approaches; I putted really nicely.

I think the exception was the last hole, on 9. I think I missed about a six-footer. I made pretty much all the putts that I felt I should and needed to make in that eight- to ten-foot range.

And then inside, you know, my cleanup putts for par, I was good with all of those except 9.

So I think it's just a clean, good day. A lot of progress off what's been probably a pretty up and down season for me. I mean, it's been a bit of a struggle the last few months with the exception of last week, so it's good to see some progress.

Q. That leads me to my next one. Anything you did this week to prepare differently or anything you've done at the beginning of the year versus now?

MARINA ALEX: The two weeks off I really tried to work hard on my putting and work on some things in my stroke, green reading. I've been more disciplined with AimPoint than I have in the past.

I really think it's paid off. Last week and this week I've made a lot of really good putts that I probably wouldn't have red as well without using the AimPoint strategy.

So I think overall it's kind of just helped things get better and more refined. I can tell if I'm hitting a good putt or if I'm misreading a putt versus the guessing game, which I think it's been for a while on the greens.

It's hard to play well if you're not making putts. You can hit the ball tee to green great, but if you don't carry much momentum it's really hard to piece together a good tournament, and that's really where I've been struggling.

Q. Might be the answer to my next question. Not a lot of low scores. I believe it's you and Aza, just 5-under. What have been some of the keys to taking advantage of some of the scoring opportunities?

MARINA ALEX: Yeah, it was a little bit softer today because we got that overnight rain. It wasn't that soft that it was, you know, playing that long, so I think it kind of made for some optimal conditions. The greens are great. They're rolling really nice and they're still like a fair bit receptive.

So if you're dialed in on your numbers and getting good clubs into the greens, it's easy to have a good day. But I still think there is some defense and challenge to the course. You know, you miss greens in the wrong places, your up and downs around the easiest. Not automatic. So I think you'll see an array of sports.