Maja Stark

Last updated

Maja Stark
Personal information
Full nameMaja Sofia Stark
Born (1999-12-10) 10 December 1999 (age 24)
Abbekås, Sweden
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Sporting nationalityFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
Residence Abbekås, Sweden
Career
College Oklahoma State
Turned professional2021
Current tour(s) LPGA Tour
Ladies European Tour
Professional wins8
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour1
Ladies European Tour6
ALPG Tour1
Other2
Best results in LPGA major championships
Chevron Championship 2nd: 2024
Women's PGA C'ship CUT: 2023
U.S. Women's Open T9: 2023
Women's British Open T41: 2022
Evian Championship CUT: 2022, 2023
Achievements and awards
Big 12 Player of the Year2020–21

Maja Sofia Stark (born 10 December 1999) is a Swedish professional golfer. She has six Ladies European Tour titles and earned LPGA Tour membership through her victory at the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational. [1] As an amateur she was in contention at the 2020 and 2021 U.S. Women's Open, and after turning professional in August 2021 she won two tournaments in three starts on the Ladies European Tour. [2]

Contents

Amateur career

Stark grew up in Abbekås, Skåne County, and joined the Swedish National Team in 2016. She represented her country at the European Girls' Team Championship, where Sweden won the silver in 2016 and the gold in 2017. She was then part of the Swedish teams that won the European Ladies' Team Championship in 2018, 2019 and 2020, teamed with Frida Kinhult, Sara Kjellker, Ingrid Lindblad, Linn Grant, and Beatrice Wallin. [3] She was also a member of the 2017 European Junior Solheim Cup team. [4]

In August 2019, Stark made two starts in the LET Access Series and was runner-up at both, the Anna Nordqvist Västerås Open and the Swedish PGA Championship. [5]

Stark was a freshman at Oklahoma State University in 2019–20, where she won the Hurricane Invitational in just her second career start. [6] She won the 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup at Bay Hill Club and Lodge, Bay Hill, Florida with the International team. In her sophomore year Stark joined Pernilla Lindberg (2008) as Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, and was the Big 12's lone WGCA First Team All-American. She won two individual titles and ended the season ranked No. 4 by GolfStat with a 49–2 record in head-to-head competition against top-100 players in the country. She recorded a stroke average of 70.48, which destroyed the previous school record (71.14) set by Caroline Hedwall in 2010. [7]

Stark rose to 6th place in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in July 2020 [8] and received an exemption for the 2020 U.S. Women's Open as one of the 20 leading amateurs, her first major championship, where she finished tied for 13th. [9] [8] At the 2021 U.S. Women's Open she was tied for 9th after the third round, and finished tied for 16th after a final round of 74. [10]

Professional career

Stark turned professional in August 2021, with the intention to play on the Swedish Golf Tour and by invitations on the Ladies European Tour (LET), aiming to qualify for the LPGA Tour through qualifying school. [11] She won her first professional title, the PGA Championship by Trelleborgs Kommun on the LET Access Series, in her second career start the same month. [12]

In early September, Stark claimed her first LET title at the Creekhouse Ladies Open, finishing four shots ahead of compatriot Linn Grant, in the process earning membership of the LET. [13] Less than a month later, she won her second LET title at the Estrella Damm Ladies Open. [2]

Stark started her 2022 LET season strong. She was runner-up and low woman at the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge in Thailand, fending off all but Sihwan Kim of the Asian Tour. On the two stops of the LET's Australian swing, she was runner-up at the Australian Ladies Classic, one stroke behind Meghan MacLaren, and won the Women's NSW Open by five strokes ahead of compatriot Johanna Gustavsson. [14]

In July she won the Amundi German Masters by one stroke over Leonie Harm and Jessica Karlsson, re-taking the top spot in the Order of Merit ahead of Linn Grant and Johanna Gustavsson. [15]

In August, she won the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland with a commanding five stroke margin. The event, co-sanctioned between the LPGA and LET, was played concurrently with a tournament on the European Tour on the same course. The victory earned her membership of the LPGA Tour. [16] Stark made her LPGA debut as a member at the Portland Classic where she finished top-10, three strokes behind winner Andrea Lee. [17]

Stark started 2023 with a runner-up finish at the LPGA Tour's Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January, and won her sixth LET title four shots ahead of Linn Grant at the Lalla Meryem Cup in February. [18] In September, she represented Europe in the Solheim Cup for the first time in her career. She went 2–1–1 in the event, including a Sunday singles win against the reigning U.S. Open champion, Allisen Corpuz to help Team Europe stage a comeback from behind to retain the cup. [19]

In April 2024, Stark finished solo second to world number one, Nelly Korda at the 2024 Chevron Championship, her career-best finish in the major to date. [20]

Amateur wins

Source: [8]

Professional wins (8)

LPGA Tour wins (1)

Legend
Major championships (0)
Other LPGA Tour (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-upWinner's
share ($)
114 Aug 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational [1] 69-70-69-63=271−205 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Allisen Corpuz 225,000

1 Co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.

Ladies European Tour wins (6)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
15 Sep 2021 Creekhouse Ladies Open 72-65-71-71=279−94 strokes Flag of Sweden.svg Linn Grant
23 Oct 2021 Estrella Damm Ladies Open 74-69-65=208−82 strokes Flag of Slovenia.svg Pia Babnik
31 May 2022 Women's NSW Open [2] 68-69-66-70=273−155 strokes Flag of Sweden.svg Johanna Gustavsson
43 Jul 2022 Amundi German Masters 68-68-67-70=273−151 stroke Flag of Germany.svg Leonie Harm
Flag of Sweden.svg Jessica Karlsson
514 Aug 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational [3] 69-70-69-63=271−205 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Allisen Corpuz
611 Feb 2023 Lalla Meryem Cup 71-67-69=207−124 strokes Flag of Sweden.svg Linn Grant

2 Co-sanctioned by the WPGA Tour of Australasia.
3 Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour.

LET Access Series wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
123 Aug 2021 PGA Championship by Trelleborgs Kommun [4] 67-70-68=205−81 stroke Flag of England.svg Lily May Humphreys

4 Co-sanctioned by the Swedish Golf Tour.

Other wins (1)

Results in LPGA majors

Tournament20202021202220232024
Chevron Championship T372
U.S. Women's Open T13T16CUTT9
Women's PGA Championship CUT
The Evian Championship NTCUTCUT
Women's British Open T41T50
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

YearRankingSource
2018770 [22]
2019641 [23]
2020321 [24]
202190 [25]
202241 [26]
202347 [27]
202428^ [28]

^ As of 22 April 2024

Team appearances

Amateur

Source: [29] [4]

Professional

Solheim Cup record

YearTotal
matches		Total
W–L–H		Singles
W–L–H		Foursomes
W–L–H		Fourballs
W–L–H		Points
won		Points
%
Career42–1–11–0–01–1–00–0–12.562.5
2023 42–1–11–0–0 def. A. Corpuz 2&11–1–0 lost w/ L. Grant 2&1
won w/ L. Grant 1 up		0–0–1 halved w/ E. Pedersen 2.562.5

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References

  1. ↑ Levins, Keely (14 August 2022). "Swedish upstart Maja Stark earns LPGA membership with a runaway win in Northern Ireland". Golf Digest. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Maja Stark Claims Second Let Win In Three Starts". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "Maja Stark Presentation". Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  4. 1 2 "International matches". European Golf Association.
  5. ↑ "Maja Stark Results". Golfdata. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "Roster: Maja Stark". Oklahoma State Athletics. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Cowgirl Golf Sweeps Big 12 Golfer, Freshman, Coach Of The Year Awards". Oklahoma State. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 "Maja Stark". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "20 Top Amateurs Added to 2020 U.S. Women's Open Field". USGA. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  10. ↑ "U.S. Women's Open Leaderboard – Final". LPGA. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  11. ↑ Johansson, Jesper (13 August 2021). "Stark blir proffs: "Försöker alltid att vinna"" [Stark turns professional: ”Always trying to win”]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Stark Secures Maiden Professional Win". LET Access Series. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "Maja Stark Claims First Let Victory After Quality Performance at Creekhouse Ladies Open". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  14. ↑ "Rising Swede Stark wins Women's NSW Open". The West Australian. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "Race to Costa Del Sol". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  16. ↑ Cradock, Matt (14 August 2022). "Ewen Ferguson And Maja Stark Secure ISPS Handa World Invitational". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  17. ↑ "Maja Stark Makes LPGA Tour Debut After Stellar Mentorship". LPGA Tour. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  18. ↑ "Maja Stark Sees Out Victory At Lalla Meryem Cup To Land Sixth LET Title". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  19. ↑ Woodard, Adam (24 September 2023). "2023 Solheim Cup Sunday singles results: Europe retains trophy in Spain with late heroics from Carlota Ciganda". Golfweek. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  20. ↑ Kellam, Sarah (21 April 2024). "Nelly Korda Wins Fifth Consecutive Title at The Chevron Championship". LPGA. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  21. ↑ "Wake Up Skurup! Open". Swedish Golf Federation and Golfdata AB. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  22. ↑ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2018.
  23. ↑ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2019.
  24. ↑ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2020.
  25. ↑ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2021.
  26. ↑ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2022.
  27. ↑ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2023.
  28. ↑ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 22 April 2024.
  29. ↑ "European Team Championships". European Golf Association.
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