N.J. Native Marina Alex Tied For Lead In U.S. Women's Open
Marina Alex, who grew up in Wayne, N.J., and played out of the North Jersey Country, sits atop the leaderboard as one of three first-round leaders of the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania.
Alex, 24, shot 4-under 66 along with fellow American Jane Park and Australian Karrie Webb to grab the early lead. Alex tees off at 1:18 p.m. for Friday’s second round, weather permitting..
Her round of 66 Thursday tied her career low round which she shot two weeks ago in the first round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
“A lot of things have fallen together,” Alex said. “I’ve been working on my swing, and I have my caddie, who is absolutely awesome, I love her, she helped me out so much. It’s little things here and there piecing it together, and it’s kind of showing right now, which is great.”
U.S. OPEN LEADERBOARD N.J.COM ARTICLE, photos
According to an article on NJ.com, Alex has been working on swing changes, and it all seemed to come together Thursday as she birdied three of her last five holes to get to 4 under.
She hit a 5-wood to within 18 feet on the ninth hole and made a curling birdie putt.
"It was the best putt and best shot of the day for me, so that was great," she said.
Alex was an amateur when she played in her first U.S. Open.
"I qualified like the last spot on my sectional," she said. "My game then and now is not even remotely the same. I was a nervous kid, pretty much."
On Thursday, she embraced the championship atmosphere and cheering crowds.
"I'm not a front-runner for this tournament, really," she said. "So I'm just going to go out there and have fun tomorrow with my caddie and just keep doing the things that we've been doing and just see where that puts me
This season, Alex’s second on the LPGA Tour, she stands No. 80 on the money list with $75,834 earned and stands No. 87 on the CME Globe ranking. She is also No. 19 in driving accuracy on the LPGA Tour. She has earned $300,164 in her career.
Alex came into the U.S. Open after a strong finish in her previous event, the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, where finish T-9 and earned $39,000. She has had six rounds in the 60s this season.
In October of 2013, Alex earned full-time status on the LPGA by virtue of a strong finish at the Symetra Tour Championship.
In 2013, Alex played full-time on the Symetra Tour and made 14 consecutive cuts, earning $39,804 to place third on the tour. This came in a year when she had a T27 finish at LPGA Qualifying School last December that earned Category 17 status, allowing her to play in a limited number of LPGA Tour events.
In 2013, she played in four qualifiers and three LPGA events. She played on a sponsor’s exemption at the ShopRite LPGA Classic at Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club in Galloway and made $6,579. In 2014, she will be available to play in any LPGA event.
Alex was runner-up in the NJSGA Women’s Amateur at Rumson in 2005 to Kelly Cramp of Hopewell Valley and was also runner-up in the NJSGA Girls’ Junior in 2002 to Kate Durnan of Ridgewood.
For Wayne Hills High School, she was a two-time winner of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association champion and set a tournament standard with a 5-under par 32 to win one of them by a record eight shots.
Alex qualified for three USGA Junior Girls Championships.
In 2009, she qualified for the U.S. Women's Open at Saucon Valley Golf Club in Bethlehem, Pa., after finishing fourth at sectional qualifying at Neshanic Valley. She won medalist honors at local qualifying for the Open in Pinehurst.
She also earned an exemption to the U.S. Women's Amateur in St. Louis after qualifying for the U.S. Open and finished in a tie for second place in U.S. Amateur stroke play that summer.
Alex, who was selected First-Team All-American in 2012 and 2010 while playing for Vanderbilt University, was one of 76 players to advance to the final stage of Q-School last winter and was one of 35 LPGA Tour rookies for 2013.
