Maja Stark claims two-stroke victory at 80th US Women's Open
CNN02-06-2025
Sweden's Maja Stark is now a major champion after winning the 80th US Women's Open on Sunday at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.
The 25-year-old is the first Swede to win a US Women's Open since Annika Sörenstam earned her third title in 2006. The only other Swede to win the major was Liselotte Neumann in 1988. The world No. 33 revealed both Swedish icons texted to wish her good luck before Sunday's final round, telling her to 'bring it home.'
Stark shot an even-par 72 in the final round to secure the win at seven-under, two shots ahead of Japan's Rio Takeda and American Nelly Korda. The Swedish star started the day with a one-stroke lead over Spanish rookie Julia López Ramírez.
'I just didn't want to get ahead of myself. I just thought there's still a lot of golf left to be played,' Stark said. 'I just felt like people are going to pass me probably, and I just had to stay calm through that.'
World No. 1 Korda, who started the day three back, got within one shot of the lead, but a bogey on the 13th saw the momentum shift and the American couldn't close the gap.
Stark wasn't in the best form and her expectations were low heading into the second major of the year. She'd missed the cut in three of the eight tournaments she'd played in 2025 – with her only top-10 finish coming in early April – before the US Women's Open triumph.
'I think that I just stopped trying to control everything, and I just kind of let everything happen the way it happened. During the practice days, I realized that, if I just kind of hovered the club above the ground a little bit before I hit, I released some tension in my body,' Stark revealed to the media after her win.
'I think that just doing my processes well and knowing, giving myself little things like that was the key this week because I don't really want to rely on my confidence for stuff.'
It's Stark's first major victory and improves on her previous best finish at last year's 2024 Chevron Championship, where she finished runner-up to Korda.
The Oklahoma State graduate now has two wins on the LPGA Tour and nine total professional wins.
The 25-year-old is the first Swede to win a US Women's Open since Annika Sörenstam earned her third title in 2006. The only other Swede to win the major was Liselotte Neumann in 1988. The world No. 33 revealed both Swedish icons texted to wish her good luck before Sunday's final round, telling her to 'bring it home.'
Stark shot an even-par 72 in the final round to secure the win at seven-under, two shots ahead of Japan's Rio Takeda and American Nelly Korda. The Swedish star started the day with a one-stroke lead over Spanish rookie Julia López Ramírez.
'I just didn't want to get ahead of myself. I just thought there's still a lot of golf left to be played,' Stark said. 'I just felt like people are going to pass me probably, and I just had to stay calm through that.'
World No. 1 Korda, who started the day three back, got within one shot of the lead, but a bogey on the 13th saw the momentum shift and the American couldn't close the gap.
Stark wasn't in the best form and her expectations were low heading into the second major of the year. She'd missed the cut in three of the eight tournaments she'd played in 2025 – with her only top-10 finish coming in early April – before the US Women's Open triumph.
'I think that I just stopped trying to control everything, and I just kind of let everything happen the way it happened. During the practice days, I realized that, if I just kind of hovered the club above the ground a little bit before I hit, I released some tension in my body,' Stark revealed to the media after her win.
'I think that just doing my processes well and knowing, giving myself little things like that was the key this week because I don't really want to rely on my confidence for stuff.'
It's Stark's first major victory and improves on her previous best finish at last year's 2024 Chevron Championship, where she finished runner-up to Korda.
The Oklahoma State graduate now has two wins on the LPGA Tour and nine total professional wins.
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