New Jersey Native Marina Alex Competes at Home After Palos Verdes Victory | LPGA | Ladies Professional Golf Association

CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY | After incomes a long-awaited win on the Palos Verdes Championship introduced by Financial institution of America, Marina Alex enters the week with a second profession LPGA victory beneath her belt. Alex, now No. 28 within the Rolex Rankings, defeated world No.1 Jin Younger Ko by a single stroke in California two Sundays in the past.

“It is in all probability a number of the most constant golf I’ve performed in a very long time, ranging from Boca right through to this stretch,” Alex mentioned.

Marina mentioned she labored out some kinks in her recreation main into the California stretch, following Thailand and Singapore.

“I simply modified how I start my golf swing and my take-away within the first one-third of my swing. That permits me to take a bit little bit of a load off of my again and get by means of the ball with a bit bit much less torsion on my backbone,” she mentioned.

Alex has been battling a nagging again harm the previous few years which has stored her out of competitions and left her profession up within the air. Going into 2020, she mentioned that she was in the very best form of her life, however coaching arduous through the pandemic triggered her again to flare up.

“It did not afford me a possibility to enhance on something. It is very easy to leap again full throttle, after which that is when issues begin going haywire, which is what occurred for me. I used to be making an attempt to ramp as much as come again to play and I used to be completely not prepared for it,” Alex mentioned.

Earlier this 12 months, Alex did not understand how lengthy she would have the ability to proceed enjoying aggressive golf attributable to harm, however she labored arduous within the low season on her swing after gaining some endurance.

“It was a protracted course of, however I am hoping that it is allowed me to correctly heal and rebuild energy, and I am hoping that that is not one thing I’ll should cope with within the instant future,” she mentioned.

Born and raised in Wayne, New Jersey, Marina is vaguely conversant in the tree-lined course, tight fairways and sloping greens at Higher Montclair Nation Membership.

“I performed within the U.S. Junior Qualifier once I was 12, and I am fairly positive I shot 93. That is my solely reminiscence.” Marina joked, “I am hoping I enhance on the 93, if I am being sincere.”

To arrange for this week’s potential curveballs, Alex labored intently with coach Claude Harmon III.

“I seen on the 9 that I performed, which was our again 9 I performed yesterday, you possibly can hit a pleasant drive, however you then could be barely blocked out by a tree and should work away from the pin or the center of the inexperienced,” she mentioned.

Marina mentioned this hometown occasion would require tactical positioning off the tee and constant ball trajectories to achieve success.

“There are some angles off the tee the place you should place your self in the precise or left facet of the fairways to have higher approaches into the greens as a result of they do have some overhanging tree limbs, which is a fairly refined however cool ingredient of this course,” she mentioned.