THE WOODLANDS, Texas — The 2023 season was a challenging one for LPGA Tour veteran Marina Alex
Her 11th year as a Tour member saw her start solidly, making the cut in her first 10 events of the season, and then stumble, missing eight cuts in her last 11 starts of the year. It was a disappointing span that had the two-time LPGA Tour winner questioning herself more than ever, struggles she wasn’t afraid to share candidly about on social media, and that had her wishing for the season to end as fast as it possibly could.
“I think I lost my way a little bit in the middle of last year,” Alex admitted. “Got really results-oriented and got out of the process of just playing golf. I was chasing, trying to make that Solheim Cup team and that set me off in a bad direction from a pressure perspective. Felt like I let myself down, and then I felt like I never got out of that funk.
“When you get results-oriented or worry about the outcome, or worry about what's going on, not just you, but around you, that's when things get wayward. You get mentally distracted. I really caved into that last year badly, and I'm trying to do a better job of not caving into that this year. It'll be a challenge, but I feel like we're off to a better start with it.”
And that mentality seems to be paying off thus far through the first round of the 2024 Chevron Championship. Alex made quick work of The Club at Carlton Woods on Thursday in The Woodlands, Texas, carding a 4-under 68 to sit near the top of the leaderboard early at the year’s first major championship.
The 33-year-old got off to a slow start, quickly dropping a shot with a bogey on the par-4 2nd hole, but she recovered with a birdie on the par-5 4th hole to get back to even par on the round. Alex then rode the par train throughout the rest of her opening nine, recording five consecutive pars to turn in 36, but she turned up the heat in her closing stretch.
She grabbed a pair of back-to-back birdies on holes 10 and 11, the latter of which saw her bury a lengthy birdie from the front of the green to move to 2-under overall. After parring the 12th hole, Alex then struck again, landing a one-two punch of birdies on holes 13 and 14 to get to 4-under on the day.
But Alex ultimately parred out en route to posting a 4-under 68, a score that matched her first-round effort in The Chevron Championship last year and a solid opening performance she’s excited to build upon in the coming days.
“It was a little sketchy, I would say, to start the round. My tempo wasn't clicking,” said Alex. “I didn't feel like I was swinging as fluidly as I would've liked. I kind of grooved into it as we got through the round. I hit some nice shots at the end of my front nine and the beginning of the back nine on. Then I was able to convert a little bit more on the putting element of it.
“(This good round) does a lot for my confidence. I had a nice opening round here last year and didn't carry it through for four rounds, so I would like to improve upon that and build into tomorrow and the weekend and find myself in contention, which would be wonderful.”
This week marks Alex’s sixth start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and in her five previous tournaments, she has only missed one cut and recorded two top-20 finishes, the best of which is a tie for ninth that came at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. This is her 10th appearance in the Chevron Championship, and Alex is working to improve upon her career-best finish of T21 at The Chevron Championship over the next three days in The Woodlands, Texas.
But with 54 holes of major championship golf left to play at a venue that has proven it can bully a player to an over-par score, Alex knows she’ll have to build off the momentum she generated with her 68 on Thursday if she wants to be in contention come Sunday’s final round. And tomorrow, Alex will be facing much more difficult conditions in the afternoon draw, a challenge she is already mentally preparing for as she readies herself for three more days of battle at The Club at Carlton Woods.
“I feel like I didn't play perfect golf by any means,” said Alex. “That's some confidence building to know that I can go out with that game that I had today and maybe even a bit of a better game and try and piece together another great round in the afternoon. It'll be tough. It's getting windy. Greens will firm out a little bit. It's hot. So those afternoon rounds are always a little bit harder.”
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