Thursday at the Mizuho Americas Open didn't go as planned for New Jersey native Marina Alex as the 32-year-old opened her week with an 8-over 80 that saw her make three double bogeys. But Alex wasn't about to go quietly, especially in her home state, recovering on Friday at Liberty National Golf Club with an impressive 8-under 64 highlighted by nine birdies. It's her lowest round since the 2019 Indy Women in Tech Championship driven by Group 1001 when Alex also shot an 8-under 64 in the third round, and it has moved her well inside the cut line, helping Alex jump from T115 to inside the top 40, meaning she will play the weekend in Jersey City, N.J.
"I played as horribly as I could play it yesterday, so I think I learned every place not to. It's a tricky course, and honestly, it required on my end probably a little bit more prep going into yesterday. I made some dumb decisions off tees that cost me like a bunch of shots," said Alex of her 80, which was her highest first-round score since the 2018 Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic. "I learned from that today, and then I just kind of got off to a really good, solid start, and luckily the momentum just kept going in my favor."
Now sitting at even par, Alex will definitely have some ground to make up on Saturday and Sunday if she wants to give herself a shot at victory come Sunday. For now, though, Alex is celebrating the comeback with some pizza, grateful to have the opportunity to play the weekend and not head home two days early.
“(The support this weekend) is going to be great. I was so disappointed yesterday. Playing so close to home, it's pretty gut-wrenching to put a score like that up there," she said. "I couldn't have asked for a better backup to that."
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