Casandra Alexander is the Ladies European Tour (LET) number one with just five events of the 2026 season remaining.
The South African recorded her second victory of the season, her third career LET title, last time out at the Buccellati Ladies Italian Open.
Alexander now has a 1,288.28-point lead ahead of Canada’s Anna Huang at the top of the LET Order of Merit.
Along with her caddie Douglas Pirie, the pair have set themselves two goals before the end of the season.
“Doug [my caddie] and I have pretty much two goals that we’ve set out,” said Alexander. “One is to win the Order of Merit before we play the final event in Spain. I’m going to go and play [LPGA] Q-School, so I’d like to play Spain freely. I’m going to arrive the day before the tournament, I’m going to have jetlag.
“Secondly, we googled the greatest number of points in the Order of Merit season and it’s 3,600 points, so we’ve got about 700 to go. We’re going to chase that and if someone wins everything until the end and beats us, there’s nothing we can do about that. We’re going to focus on winning more golf tournaments and getting more points and see where we end up.”
Alexander is teeing it up at the 2026 Aramco Korea Championship this week which takes place at New Korea Country Club from October 8-11.
The three-time LET winner played well here in 2024 when she finished in a share of third place behind eventual winner Hyo Joo Kim and runner-up Charley Hull.
She explained: “I don’t remember much of it [this course] now I’ve been here. I do remember I enjoy the setup and the layout and the course looks like it’s in really good condition. I’m looking forward to the week.
“I like tree-lined courses, and the greens are running really pure, they’re running quite fast so it’s important to be below the hole on this golf course because the greens are really quick, so downhill putts are going to be really tricky.
“The LET takes us all over and it’s nice to go from one place to the next, even though you have jetlag sometimes – like this week. It’s nice to be out here and enjoy some Korean BBQ and shopping and skincare.”
Despite leading the Order of Merit, Alexander is still learning as the season goes on especially about playing under pressure in the final groups of a tournament.
The South African is known for her final day charges and as such hasn’t been in too many final groups, even though she has 23 top-10 finishes on the LET.
“I’ve had a lot of top finishes, and a lot of people have probably thought I’ve been in the final groups and been in contention,” continued Alexander. “I’m always coming from behind and shooting nine or ten-under and finishing in the top five that way. That’s how most of my top five and top 10 finishes have come, so I haven’t been in the final group as much as you might think.
“The more I’m playing it, the more comfortable I’m getting because you know someone is going to come and shoot eight-under because normally I’m that person. You have got to be patient and work with what you’ve got, it’s so easy to get caught up with the girls you’re playing with.
“Italy is the perfect example with Moa [Folke] starting out hot then we all fell apart somewhere and it’s about the way you finish that gets the job done. Where I’m at now and what I’m learning is something that money can’t buy, you’ve just got to go in and experience it. I’m paying my school fees a little bit now and I’m sure there’s more for me to come. It’s very important in someone’s career to have that pressure and still perform.”
For Alexander, as well as having her eyes set on winning the Order of Merit crown, she is also heading to LPGA Q-Series in November to try and secure her LPGA Tour card.
The top 10 players on the LET Order of Merit after the conclusion of the Aramco China Championship will qualify for the Final Stage.
Alexander has risen to number 24 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings after her excellent form on the LET and is happy with the pathway she has chosen for herself.
She added: “This is something my team and we have discussed we wanted to go to Q-School the last couple of years. We sat down and said we’ve got to pay our school fees somewhere because in life that’s what happens whether you have a normal job or are a professional golfer, so why not do it out here and gain some confidence while doing that.
“The fields aren’t as strong as the LPGA, but I can make some money in the meantime and build some money up going to LPGA because if you get there there’s a lot of pressure, money pressure, playing against the best in the world. There’s a little bit more forgiveness on the LET. It’s not by luck; we definitely planned to get there this way.
“Ideally, I would’ve got my card last year, which is what I wanted, but I’m a strong believer in everything happens for a reason and at the right time. For me, going to LPGA next year if I get my card is the right move and if I don’t, then maybe I need to pay some more school fees out here.
“I feel more like I belong every time I play a major and I’ve been lucky enough to have an opportunity to play a lot of majors due to world ranking and some good finishes when I first came on Tour. I’ve done it the right way for me. Maybe that doesn’t work for everyone else, but it’s certainly worked out alright for me.”
Alexander will tee it up in the first round of the Aramco Korea Championship at 7.44 am (local time) alongside major champion Sung Hyun Park and world number five Miyu Yamashita.
Follow all the action from the Aramco Korea Championship on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram and X and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #AramcoKoreaChampionship.
