Swedish golfer Maja Stark arrived at the U.S. Women`s Open having struggled with her confidence. However, her decision to let go of those worries proved to be the catalyst for claiming the most significant title in women`s golf.
The 25-year-old from Sweden posted an even-par 72 on Sunday, maintaining her lead throughout the final round. Her impressive four-day total of 7-under 281 at Erin Hills placed her two shots ahead of world No. 1 Nelly Korda and Japan`s Rio Takeda.
“I think I just stopped trying to control everything and kind of let things unfold as they would,” Stark commented. “During practice, I realized that hovering the club slightly above the ground before hitting helped release some physical tension. Focusing on executing my process well and giving myself small cues like that was key this week, because I didn`t want to rely on my confidence for performance.”
Stark`s victory makes her the sixth Swedish player to win a women`s major championship and the first since Anna Nordqvist won the Women`s British Open in 2021. This also marks Stark`s second career LPGA Tour title.
The former Oklahoma State player is the first Swede to win the U.S. Women`s Open since golf icon Annika Sorenstam achieved her third title in 2006. The only other Swedish winner of this event was Liselotte Neumann in 1988.
“They messaged me yesterday, basically telling me to bring the trophy home,” Stark shared regarding communications from her compatriots.
Stark`s consistent play was crucial in fending off challenges from Korda and several other contenders.
Korda finished with a 71, while Takeda carded a 72, resulting in their tie for second place. Hye-Jin Choi (68), Ruoning Yin (70), and Mao Saigo (73) shared fourth place at 4 under par. Hailee Cooper (70) and Hinako Shibuno (74) finished at 3 under.
Stark`s playing partner, Julia Lopez Ramirez, who started the day just one shot behind, fell out of contention after a final round 79, which included a triple bogey on the 18th hole. She finished tied for 19th.
This second-place finish represents Korda`s best performance at the U.S. Women`s Open to date.
Korda described her relationship with the tournament as “complicated,” noting her previous best finish was a tie for eighth in 2022. She missed the cut in this event last year after a challenging opening round.
“I first played this event when I was 14, so maybe there`s a bit more emotion attached,” Korda reflected. “It`s definitely been heartbreaking a couple of times… Last year`s showing definitely felt like a dagger, but that`s golf. You generally lose more often than you win.”
“I feel like I learn a lot about myself, my game, and areas needing improvement by playing the U.S. Women`s Open because it thoroughly tests every aspect of your game,” she added.
Korda made birdies on holes 7 and 8 but missed a chance to tie for the lead with a 9-foot birdie putt on No. 9. This came shortly after Stark`s streak of 21 bogey-free holes ended on the 7th.
Stark then extended her lead back to three strokes by sinking a 14-foot birdie putt on the 11th, immediately following a missed par putt by Korda from under 5 feet on the 13th.
Korda, Shibuno, and Takeda managed to narrow the gap to two shots with birdies on the par-5 14th, although both Korda and Shibuno missed eagle putts. Stark responded with a birdie of her own on the 14th, restoring her three-stroke advantage at 9 under par. She maintained that lead despite recording bogeys on the final two holes.
“I didn`t look at the leaderboards until I was around the 17th hole,” Stark said. “I caught a quick look. It was good. I wasn`t as nervous as I expected to be because I felt like I had a degree of control over my game and understood what was happening.”
Stark credited her caddie, Jeff Brighton, a former standup comedian, for helping her stay relaxed by telling jokes and preventing her from overthinking the pressure of the situation.
“We just tried to chat about different things to keep my mind off the putt itself,” she explained.
Brighton noted, “Maja is quite an intense player. She`s very competitive and tries extremely hard. So, when someone is intense, you try between shots to just get their thoughts away from golf.” He wore a “cheesehead” hat during the interview, common among Green Bay Packers fans in Wisconsin.
Stark successfully maintained her composure to claim the $2.4 million prize, the largest payout in women`s golf. Now, she just needs to decide how to spend her substantial winnings.
“Maybe moving out of my studio apartment could be one option,” Stark joked.