Maja Stark

Swedish professional golfer (born 1999) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maja Sofia Stark (born 10 December 1999) is a Swedish professional golfer. She won her first major title at the 2025 U.S. Women's Open. She has six Ladies European Tour titles, and she 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]

Full nameMaja Sofia Stark
Born (1999-12-10) 10 December 1999 (age 26)
Skurup, Sweden
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Sporting nationality Sweden
Quick facts Personal information, Full name ...
Maja Stark
Personal information
Full nameMaja Sofia Stark
Born (1999-12-10) 10 December 1999 (age 26)
Skurup, Sweden
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Sporting nationality Sweden
ResidenceAbbekås, Sweden
Career
CollegeOklahoma State
Turned professional2021
Current toursLPGA Tour
Ladies European Tour
Professional wins9
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour2
Ladies European Tour6
ALPG Tour1
Other2
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 1)
Chevron Championship2nd: 2024
Women's PGA C'shipT47: 2025
U.S. Women's OpenWon: 2025
Women's British OpenT41: 2022
Evian ChampionshipT39: 2024
Achievements and awards
Big 12 Player of the Year2020–21
Swedish Golfer of the Year2025
Signature
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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 earned the silver in 2016 and won 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. 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, at that time, her career-best finish in a major championship.[20]

Stark won her first major title at the 2025 U.S. Women's Open at Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin. She secured a two-stroke margin of victory and became the first Swedish winner of the event since Annika Sörenstam in 2006.[21]

Awards and honors

In her sophomore year 2020–2021 at Oklahoma State University, Stark was awarded Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, and was the Big 12's lone WGCA First Team All-American.[7]

In 2021, she received Elit Sign number 148 by the Swedish Golf Federation based on world ranking achievements.[22]

In 2024, she was awarded honorary membership in the PGA of Sweden.[23]

Amateur wins

  • 2013 Skandia Tour Distrikt #2, Skandia Tour Regional #6, Skandia Distrikt Skåne Final
  • 2015 Skandia Tour Riks #1, Skandia Tour Elit #2, Skandia Tour Riks #4
  • 2017 Skandia Tour Elit #1
  • 2020 Hurricane Invitational
  • 2021 Heroes Ladies Intercollegiate, Mountain View Collegiate

Source:[8]

Professional wins (9)

LPGA Tour wins (2)

More information Legend ...
Legend
Major championships (1)
Other LPGA Tour (1)
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More information No., Date ...
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)
1 14 Aug 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational[1] 69-70-69-63=271 −20 5 strokes United States Allisen Corpuz 225,000
2 1 Jun 2025 U.S. Women's Open 70-69-70-72=281 −7 2 strokes United States Nelly Korda
Japan Rio Takeda
2,400,000
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1 Co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.

Ladies European Tour wins (6)

More information No., Date ...
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 5 Sep 2021 Creekhouse Ladies Open 72-65-71-71=279 −9 4 strokes Sweden Linn Grant
2 3 Oct 2021 Estrella Damm Ladies Open 74-69-65=208 −8 2 strokes Slovenia Pia Babnik
3 1 May 2022 Women's NSW Open[2] 68-69-66-70=273 −15 5 strokes Sweden Johanna Gustavsson
4 3 Jul 2022 Amundi German Masters 68-68-67-70=273 −15 1 stroke Germany Leonie Harm
Sweden Jessica Karlsson
5 14 Aug 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational[3] 69-70-69-63=271 −20 5 strokes United States Allisen Corpuz
6 11 Feb 2023 Lalla Meryem Cup 71-67-69=207 −12 4 strokes Sweden Linn Grant
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2 Co-sanctioned by the WPGA Tour of Australasia.
3 Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour.

LET Access Series wins (1)

More information No., Date ...
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 23 Aug 2021 PGA Championship by Trelleborgs Kommun[4] 67-70-68=205 −8 1 stroke England Lily May Humphreys
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4 Co-sanctioned by the Swedish Golf Tour.

Other wins (1)

  • 2016 Wake Up Skurup! Open (Swedish Mini tour Futures Series) (as an amateur)[24]

Major championships

Wins (1)

More information Year, Championship ...
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
2025 U.S. Women's Open 1 shot lead −7 (70-69-70-72=281) 2 strokes United States Nelly Korda, Japan Rio Takeda
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Results timeline

More information Tournament ...
Tournament202020212022202320242025
Chevron Championship T37 2 T44
U.S. Women's Open T13 T16 CUT T9 CUT 1
Women's PGA Championship CUT T60 T47
The Evian Championship NT CUT CUT T39 CUT
Women's British Open T41 T50 T71 CUT
Close
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Summary

More information Tournament, Wins ...
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Chevron Championship01011133
U.S. Women's Open10012464
Women's PGA Championship00000032
The Evian Championship00000041
Women's British Open00000043
Totals1102352013
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  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2024 Women's PGA − 2025 Women's PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

World ranking

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

More information Year, Ranking ...
YearRankingSource
2018770[25]
2019641[26]
2020321[27]
202190[28]
202241[29]
202347[30]
202427[31]
202515[32]
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Team appearances

Amateur

Source:[33][4]

Professional

Solheim Cup record

More information Year, Total matches ...
YearTotal
matches
Total
W–L–H
Singles
W–L–H
Foursomes
W–L–H
Fourballs
W–L–H
Points
won
Points
%
Career 8 3–3–2 1–0–1 2–2–0 0–1–1 4 50.0
2023 4 2–1–1 1–0–0 def. A. Corpuz 2&1 1–1–0 lost w/ L. Grant 2&1
won w/ L. Grant 1 up
0–0–1 tied w/ E. Pedersen 2.5 62.5
2024 4 1–2–1 0–0–1 tied w/ L. Coughlin 1–1–0 won w/ E. Pedersen 2 up
lost w/ G. Hall 4&3
0–1–0 lost w/ E. Pedersen 3&2 1.5 37.5
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References

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