PORTLAND, Ore. – Former standout Marina Alex became the first Commodore to win on the LPGA Tour when she captured the Cambia Portland Classic Sunday in convincing fashion.
Alex, a 2012 Vanderbilt graduate and the school’s most decorated female golfer, fired a closing round of 7-under 65 to earn the champion’s trophy by third strokes.
Vanderbilt women’s head coach Greg Allen, who recruited Alex to the Nashville campus, was delighted for his former pupil.
“I’m so incredibly proud of and happy for Marina!” Allen said. “She and Jacqui (Concolino) both have had really solid years and you just felt like one of them would get that first win soon. Marina certainly did it in style today.”
Alex was sensational at the start and close of the Cambia Portland Classic. On Thursday, she claimed the first-round lead after producing the lowest round of her LPGA career – a 10-under par 62. Then, during Sunday’s final round, Alex overcame a third-round deficit by shooting a 6-under par 30 on the front nine.
A native of New Jersey, Alex was a two-time NGCA First-Team All-American and Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 2010 and 2012 for the Commodores. As a sophomore, she was the individual winner of the SEC Championships.
In 2015, she was inducted into the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame.
The 28-year-old Alex has developed into one of the LPGA’s most consistent players since joining the tour in 2013. This year, he has produced five top-five finishes, including a tie for second at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup and a third-place result at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
The victory moves Alex into 10th place in the LPGA’s season-ending Race to the CME Globe Championship.
Alex is one of four former Vanderbilt women active on the LPGA Tour, joining Jacqui Concolino, Jennifer Hahn and Simin Feng.
