Casandra Alexander sits two back heading into the weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open after carding a bogey-free 70 (-1) on Friday at The Riviera Country Club to replicate yesterday’s score and move inside the top-10.
Renowned for her big-hitting prowess and aggressive nature, Alexander produced a calculated, patient performance at golf’s toughest test in round two carding 17 pars and making one standout birdie which came at the par-4 12th.
Leading the Ladies European Tour (LET) Order of Merit this season, the South African is now well in the mix to claim a maiden Major sitting T9 through 36 holes. The duo of Alison Lee and Ruoning Yin lead a bunched leaderboard on four-under par.
“I played really solid the past two days,” Alexander said. “I’ve kept it very tidy which is exactly what a U.S. Women’s Open needs. I’m pretty impressed with myself to go bogey-free today. I said to Doug [my caddie], it’s one of those bogey-free rounds that you will remember for a while because it’s such tricky conditions. Overall I’m very happy.
“It’s definitely been an adjustment this week. I kept on telling Doug that I needed to make some birdies but I’m happy with the pars. He kept pulling me back. He said today he has the reins – I would drift off and he would bring me back in. That’s exactly what you need in a week like this. I did play solid, I did putt well. You can’t just be aggressive like you can be anywhere else. I think we’ve done that very well.”
Alexander, a one-time LET winner, made her U.S. Women’s Open debut in 2024 at Lancaster making the cut before finishing 72nd.
Since then, the 26-year-old has gone on a tear in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings ascending to 31st position and cementing herself as one of the LET’s very best.
Alexander is excited to contend over the weekend and continue giving her fans back home something to cheer about.
“I’ve had a whole lot of support coming from back home and from the LET side,” the South African said. “My DM’s are going crazy, phone’s going crazy. But it’s also one of those weeks where I put the noise to the side and focus on what’s at hand. It’s like the discussion we had earlier in the week, yes it’s a Major, but it’s also just another tournament. That’s how I’m playing it and that’s how I feel.
“Playing weekend golf, you can be slightly more aggressive. But the game plan doesn’t change. How we miss the putts and where we miss the shots are staying exactly the same. We can just be slightly more aggressive on some of the decisions. I’m quite excited for that. The goal was to play well and be well clear of the cut. So that’s step one ticked off. I’m really chuffed.”
