Marina Alex may look calm on the golf course, but she said not to let it fool anybody. “My relaxation is honestly fatigue and maybe I'm hoping that it's just going to work in my favor because I'm tired and I just can't get wound up about things that I probably would,” said Alex with a laugh. Despite exhaustion, Alex posted her second-lowest round of the year at the IWiT Championship, shooting a 64 and heading into Sunday just two shots off the lead.
Alex, who won for the first time at the 2018 Cambia Portland Classic, said the work she has been putting in since trying to defend her championship is starting to show.
“I feel like since Portland probably I just feel like that's been going in the right direction,” said Alex. “I would like to continue with that tomorrow, first and foremost, and then hopefully through the rest of the season. Like everything else, you learn so much instruction and you put pieces together and you figure out what works for you and what doesn't.”
TORRES GOING FOR HISTORY IN INDY
Maria Torres may not be feeling the pressure, but the second-year LPGA Tour player could make history on Sunday. Currently in third at -13, if Torres wins, she would become the first player from Puerto Rico to win on Tour. Torres said it does not change her strategy going into the final round.
“[My game plan is] the same as the first three days, just trying to hit the fairway, hit the green and just be patient out there. Trying to be in the present, that has been my goal for the three days, so hopefully we can finish that out,” said Torres.
After eight straight pars to open her round, Torres made six birdies over her closing stretch. Her key to finding the hole? Not overthinking at all.
“I was just putting the ball in the fairway and I was doing a good approach after that. Just try to get a good read on the putt and they were rolling really good, so I'm thankful,” said Torres.
WITH A WIN
Mi Jung Hur would earn her fourth career LPGA victory and second of the 2019 season
Hur would capture her first career wire-to-wire victory
Hur would become the season’s sixth player to have multiple wins this season, joining Hannah Green (2), Brooke Henderson (2), Jin Young Ko (4), Sei Young Kim (2) and Sung Hyun Park (2)
Marina Alex would earn her second career LPGA victory
Alex would join Lexi Thompson and Nelly Korda as American winners in 2019
Maria Torres would become the first player from Puerto Rico to win on the LPGA in Tour history
Torres would become the sixth Rolex First-Time Winner of the 2019 season, joining Celine Boutier, Bronte Law, Jeongeun Lee6, Hannah Green, Cydney Clanton
Puerto Rico would become the 10th country represented by 2019 tournament winners
PLAYER NOTES
Rolex Rankings No. 40 Mi Jung Hur (63-70-66)
- She hit eight of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens, with 24 putts
- In 2019 she has made 15 cuts in 17 starts with four top-10 finishes including a win at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open
- She is competing in her second IWiT Championship; she missed the cut in 2017
- She has three career LPGA wins: 2009 Cambia Portland Classic, 2014 Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic and the 2019 ASI Ladies Scottish Open
- Went 112 starts between her victory at the 2014 Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic and the 2019 ASI Ladies Scottish Open
- Has one career victory on the Epson Tour
- Credits her father and watching Se Ri Pak win the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open, as most influencing her career
Rolex Rankings No. 31 Marina Alex (66-71-64)
- She hit 14 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
- Made her Team USA debut at the 2019 Solheim Cup where she posted a 1-1-2 record
- In 2019, she has made 16 of 19 cuts with four top-10 finishes including a season-best T7 finish in her title defense at the Cambia Portland Classic
- At the 2018 Cambia Portland Classic, Alex came from six-shots back to win with a final-round 65
- Alex is in her seventh season on the LPGA Tour, with one career victory at the 2018 Cambia Portland Classic
- Two-time First-Team All-American (2010, 2012) at Vanderbilt University and was inducted in the Vanderbilt Hall of Fame in 2015
- Graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2012 with a degree in Communications
- She is making her third start at the IWiT Championship; she finished T28 in 2018 and T13 in 2017
- Rolex Rankings No. 143 Maria Torres (69-68-66)
- She hit 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 26 putts
- Her third-round 66 is her second 66 of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; her career-best round is a first-round 64 at the 2019 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
- Torres’ 203 ties her career-lowest 54-hole score; she last recorded a 203 at the 2019 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
- In 2019, Torres has made 10 of 22 cuts with a season-best T15 finish at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship
- Torres is a 2018 LPGA Tour rookie; her career-best finish is tie for seventh at the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic
- She is making her second start at the IWiT Championship; she finished T44 in 2018
- Torres is the first player from Puerto Rico to earn full membership on the LGPA Tour
Rolex Rankings No. 154 Nanna Koerstz Madsen (65-75-64)
- She hit 11 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
- Koerstz Madsen’s third-round 64 is her second-lowest 18-hole score of her career; her lowest 18-hole score is a third-round 63 from the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic
- Her 64 is her lowest 18-hole score of the 2019 season
- Her 203 is her second-lowest 54-hole score of her career; her lowest 54-hole score is 203 most recently shot at the 2019 HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open
- In 2019, she has made 13 of 18 cuts with three top-20 finishes; her best finish of the season was T11 at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer
- Koerstz Madsen is in her second season on the LPGA Tour; her best career finish was solo second at the 2017 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open as a nonmember
- She is making her third start at the IWiT Championship; she missed the cut in 2018 and finished T42 in 2017
- Koerstz Madsen represented Denmark at the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing T13
- She was a three-time winner as a Epson Tour rookie that led her to become the 12th player in Tour history to earn a "Battlefield Promotion" to the LPGA Tour, playing in three events between late August and early September in 2017
Rolex Rankings No. 31 Bronte Law (65-75-65)
- She hit 9 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens, with 29 putts
- Made her Team Europe debut at the 2019 Solheim Cup where she posted a 1-1-2 record
- Law’s 65 ties her second-lowest round of her LPGA Tour career; she fired a career-low round of 64 in the third round of the 2017 IWiT Championship
- Law is in her third season on the LPGA Tour; her best finish is a win at the 2019 Pure Silk Championship
- In 2019, she made 12 of 19 cuts, including a win at the Pure Silk Championship, one additional top-10 finishes and three additional top-20 finishes
- She is making her third start at the IWiT Championship; she finished T12 in 2018 and T63 in 2017
QUICK HITS
- Sponsor invite and Indianapolis-native amateur Erica Shepherd enters the final round T49 at -2
- There are seven countries represented in the top 10: Rep. of Korea, U.S., Puerto Rico, Denmark, England, Germany and Japan
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