Marina Alex didn’t want to take the last two weeks off, but she made the most of it.
Having come up just short of qualifying for her first Solheim Cup at 13th in the point standings, Alex spent her time since the Ricoh Women’s British Open getting some rest and regrouping for this week’s Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. Feeling refreshed, Alex opened with a five-under par, 66 for her lowest round in this event to take the early lead on day one at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club.
“I got off to a great start,” said Alex, who opened with a 31 on the back nine, her first nine of the day. “Then the conditions started to pick up a little bit. The wind picked up. It started to get tough definitely the second nine, so I kind of just held in there the best I could.”
With 28 putts on Thursday, Alex who is ranked 99th in putting average, says it was her putting that really made the day.
“Putted unbelievably well today. I rolled it so good. So I hope I can just carry that into the next couple days and just tidy up the ball-striking a little bit.”
The 2013 rookie remains in search of her first win on Tour but has put herself in contention throughout 2017 with five top-11s including most recently at the U.S. Women’s Open. The Ottawa Golf and Hunt Club is playing like a major championship test this week with tall, thick rough and greens comparable to those players faced in New Jersey.
“The greens are amazing. When we were practicing the last couple days, especially yesterday, now that things have dried out a bit after the rain, I thought that they were almost just as fast as what we played at the U.S. Open. They are rolling unbelievably well. Really quick. The nice thing is they're still a bit soft, so the shots are holding into the greens, so it kind of makes for a good combo.”
The hometown crowd was out in full force Thursday morning watching their own Brooke Henderson, who is a member at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. The major champion could not get any putts to fall her way Thursday and settled for a three-over, par 74 including 32 putts.
Inbee Park withdrew with a sore back prior to the start of her opening round at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.
The opening round of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open is underway. Click here for current scores.
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