Marina Alex sees the big picture.
The 27-year old LPGA cardholder is still looking for her first Tour win in her sixth season. But she’s confident things are moving in the right direction.
“I definitely have been in contention a lot in the past two years,” Alex said. “Five or six times in various places.”
Over the last season-and-a-half Alex has recorded eight top-10 finishes. Her career-best finish was a tie for third at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in Ottawa last August. She’s recorded two top-five efforts thus far in 2018, tying for fifth in Australia in February before sharing second place at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup in Phoenix in March. Last month in Los Angeles she was one shot off the lead after 36 holes before eventually tying for 12th.
Alex freely admits she’s still trying to develop a routine for playing in one of the final groups on Sunday.
“When you’re (teeing off late), you can have all day to start to build whatever kind of expectations come into your head,” she said. “I’m just trying to figure out ways to occupy that time. Sometimes it’s easier to wake up in the morning and just get right to work and not have to sit around for four, five, or six hours waiting to go out and play.
“So there are things that I’m learning along the way about how to make a better routine for myself in the morning, just to figure out ways to distract myself pretty much, so that once I get to the golf course I’m ready to go.”
A native of Wayne, New Jersey, Alex started playing golf at age 5. More than two decades later her passion for the game remains unabated.
“Golf is one of those sports that I guess you can never be perfect at,” admitted Alex, “so there are always things that you keep thinking that you can improve upon. I don’t know if other athletes feel that way in their respective sports but in golf, you’re figuring this out, figuring that out, and tweaking this and changing that.
“So, that is an element where the passion doesn’t go away because you’re always in the process of working on something and then the completion; that hasn’t really lost its spark. I love to be out there competing and once I get under the gun I’m really excited to play against the best in the world and be trying to beat each other.”
A two-time All-American before turning professional, Alex was named to the LPGA Board of Directors last fall. She’s now serving a two-year term as a player director. Alex cites the importance of the LPGA providing a positive experience for both fans and sponsors.
“I think it starts at the pro-am level,” she said. “I know on the PGA Tour (the professionals) play a different set of tees, whereas we’re playing from the same tees as all the amateurs, with exception of the lady amateurs. And so, we’re able to have conversations with them, walk with them down the fairway and just kind of create a connection and set the tone for the day.
“And I think our tour really understands the sponsors are writing our checks and they’re making it a possibility for us to be playing professional golf at this level for the money that we play for. So, it’s important to make them feel like what they’re contributing to our tour is being valued. We do the best that we can to make them feel special and to make them understand that we appreciate everything they’re doing for us to make women’s golf important.”
Alex is a staunch advocate for her sport. She sees LPGA Tour players as role models for youngsters who may have thought about giving golf a try.
“Girls or boys it doesn’t matter,” she said. “The LPGA Tour is getting enough global coverage now that we can be role models and inspirations for guys and girls alike. And it’s important to get them into the game, whether or not they want to play it at a collegiate or professional level, just to have the experience and the exposure.
“It’s a game you can play your entire life. You can play it with friends, you can play it with clients, or with your family. It’s such a beautiful game in that sense that it can transcend so many different communities and levels and it would be a shame to see kids not more interested in it.”
Last July, Alex tied for 11th at the U.S. Women’s Open at Trump National Bedminster, the best finish by an American. When President Donald Trump attended the final three days of the championship, it marked the first time a sitting U.S. President had ever attended a Women’s Open.
Virtually every player who was asked declined to comment when asked about the President’s appearance or the protestors who also made their presence known over the course of the week. But Alex, who as a New Jersey native received an abundance of media attention all week, chose to address the historical significance of the occasion.
“Regardless of your political affiliation and whether you are a fan of Trump or you’re not a fan of Trump, having a president at a women’s golf event is pretty remarkable,” she said at the time. “(The President’s appearance) is going to draw attention to women’s golf that has maybe never been in our favor before.
“We have an unbelievable group of talented women playing golf right now. If it’s allowing more people to see us play our game, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
Alex is keenly aware of the history of her sport. The LPGA as an organization has long been committed to preserving that history and Alex believes that as the most successful women’s sporting organization in the world, the LPGA exemplifies what is possible for today’s women of any age.
“Just going back to the Founders and the Founders Cup,” she said, “since that’s our event that really showcases the 13 women who made it possible for the LPGA to start (in 1950). “When you look back on it, it’s almost crazy and insane how much work and effort and sweat and tears that they put into making women’s golf a possibility and it shows what incredible strength they had.
“We as pros following in their footsteps are just trying to continue a legacy and to tell women that no matter what your age, girls, young women, adults, whether you’re in professional sports, whether you’re in the corporate world, that being a strong, independent woman is a great thing.
“The LPGA, I don’t know if necessarily we’re trying to imply that in words, but rather with our actions and the lifestyle we have chosen. The career path that we have chosen is not an easy one. It can be difficult at times and it’s just to help all women out there kind of believe in themselves and believe in their inner strength and their talents.”
It’s impossible to know what the future holds for Marina Alex as a competitor; golf offers no guarantees. But by taking the vision of those that came before her and making it her own, she is doing her part to assure the sport’s long-term vitality.
