In a difficult U.S. Women’s Open week that saw only 13 players shoot under par, Maja Stark successfully held off world number one Nelly Korda to claim the first major title of her career at Erin Hills.
Newest prized possession 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Y8UgDkWBcM
— LPGA (@LPGA) June 2, 2025
After an up-and-down start to the season, with her best result coming at the T-Mobile Match Play, Stark was in the lead going into the final round. She had a one-shot lead over Spain’s Julia Lopez Ramirez and a two-shot lead over three women from Japan, including Mao Saigo, the winner of the last major.
Stark held a one-stroke lead heading to the back nine after a birdie on the par-3 6th and a bogey on the par-4 7th. She extended her lead to three after birdies on 11 and 14. Even with bogeys on 17 and 18, Stark was able to win by two over Korda, who also bogeyed 18. She said this when asked if she’d dreamt of winning the U.S. Women’s Open this year.
“No, not really. It feels so surreal. It felt like it was so far away just a couple of weeks ago, and just last week, my confidence was so low. I had a special friend tell me that you need to be confident, you need to trust yourself, and that’s what I tried to do,” she said.
With her win, Stark becomes the third woman from Sweden to win the U.S. Women’s Open, joining Liselotte Neumann and Annika Sorenstam. She is also the first European woman to win a major championship on the LPGA Tour since Celine Boutier in 2023.
Stark will take home a prize of $2.4 million and 819.906 points in the Race to CME Globe. She has reached over $2.5 million this season for the first time and over $5 million in career earnings.
We also saw #1 amateur in the world, Lottie Woad of Florida State, winning the low amateur honors at this major. She made the cut and landed T31 at 5-over for the week, earning her 17th point of 20 in the inaugural LPGA’s Elite Amateur Pathway program. Three more points and Woad will have secured her LPGA Tour card for the rest of the 2025 season and the 2026 season.
Next week, Stark and Korda will play at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway, New Jersey. Last year’s winner, Linnea Strom, will also be in the field to defend her title.
