INDIANAPOLIS, IN- “She said Solheim can bring out in players things that you didn’t know you had in you, and that is definitely true.”
Those are the sage words of Team USA Solheim Cup Captain Juli Inkster that Marina Alex took to heart before play this week at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course after her first Solheim Cup.
She kept bringing her best today in an opening round 66 at the Indy Women in Tech Championship Driven by Group 1001. She’s found that gear once again and knows what to focus on to keep that gear going forward.
“I have to keep that intensity, not the external with the fist pumps and the cheering and the crowds but match play especially and alternate shot forces you to be present," Alex said. "That putt or that drive or that iron shot. It matters relative to your opponent, it matters to your partner. Trying to at least implement a bit of that discipline and being present has been helpful.”
That ability and her class in how she handled Suzann Pettersen’s winning putt at the end led Alex to great fanfare. Alex didn’t come away with the attention on herself, but on her sport, as the key takeaway from the Solheim Cup.
“What that whole week did for women’s golf is the most important thing," Alex said. "An event that’s not about each individual. Yes, what Suzann did was amazing, what a way to finish your career. So cool. You wouldn’t want to change that for anything in the world. But I the end of the day, it was about getting so many people tuned in.
“It’s not about me, or the Kordas, or Suzann, or Georgia, or Celine who played so well. It’s about the totality of what it did for women’s golf.”
The bounty of fans attending in Gleneagles were treated to the caliber of play displayed at the Solheim Cup, and Alex has her eyes on making another major event that will continue to elevate women’s golf next year as a goal of her's.
“There’s definitely major goals for 2020. Olympics are a goal. Those are all things I’d really like. I’ve got some time to do it, just got to work toward it.”
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