South Africa’s Casandra Alexander is back at the AIG Women’s Open this week, looking to build on her impressive showing at last year’s championship at St. Andrews (T7).
This marks the Ladies European Tour (LET) winner’s first time in Wales and playing at Royal Porthcawl, and she’s embracing the challenge ahead.
“It’s a major tournament, so it’s good not to have too many high expectations”, said Alexander. “It’s a different golf course, and we don’t know what the conditions are going to be, so looking forward to the week. It’s going to be tough, but I can’t wait.
“It’s a long golf course and if the weather conditions get quite bad, I think it’s going to be very interesting. It’s a great venue for the AIG Women’s Open and that’s what it’s all about.
“My mother-in-law was born here [in Wales], so my husband, Adrian, was really keen to come to his roots, you could say. So my in-laws are coming out and I’ve got some coaches out here, so I’m excited. I’ve got a whole community around here this week, so I’m really looking forward to the week and happy to have everyone out here.”
Alexander reflected on her recent performance at The Amundi Evian Championship, where she contended throughout the week.
She said: “If you do well in any major, you should be really happy. I came 20th and I was upset about it, so means I’m definitely heading in the right direction. Obviously, the last day didn’t go our way – that’s golf, and that’s sometimes how it goes. So hopefully we can have a good one here, and we’ll see what happens.“
One of the longest hitters on the LET, Alexander hopes her power off the tee can give her an edge at Royal Porthcawl.
She added: “I don’t really have expectations. If you have expectations, you just get disappointed, but obviously I’d like to have a good finish and if it goes my way, it goes my way. It’s also one of those golf courses and those tournaments where you need a little bit of luck on the side as you can get some bad bounces.”
The South African will start her campaign tomorrow at 11:15am, alongside Japan’s Minami Katsu and Sweden’s Linnea Strom.
You can follow all the action throughout the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #AIGWO
