Maja Stark

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Maja Stark
Personal information
Full nameMaja Sofia Stark
Born (1999-12-10) 10 December 1999 (age 22)
Abbekås, Sweden
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Sporting nationality Sweden
ResidenceAbbekås, Sweden
Career
CollegeOklahoma State
Turned professional2021
Current tour(s)Ladies European Tour
Professional wins3
Number of wins by tour
Ladies European Tour2
Other1
Best results in LPGA major championships
ANA InspirationDNP
Women's PGA C'shipDNP
U.S. Women's OpenT13: 2020
Women's British OpenDNP
Evian ChampionshipDNP
Achievements and awards
Big 12 Player of the Year2020–21

Maja Stark (born 10 December 1999) is a Swedish professional golfer. 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.[1]

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, were 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.[2] She was also a member of the 2017 European Junior Solheim Cup team.[3]

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.[4]

Stark was a freshman at Oklahoma State University in 2019–20, where she won the Hurricane Invitational in just her second career start.[5] 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.[6]

Stark rose to 6th place in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in July 2020[7] 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.[8][7] 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.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12] Less than a month later, she won her second LET title at the Estrella Damm Ladies Open.[1]

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
  • 2016 Wake Up Skurup! Open – Futures Series
  • 2017 Skandia Tour Elit #1
  • 2020 Hurricane Invitational
  • 2021 Heroes Ladies Intercollegiate, Mountain View Collegiate

Source:[7]

Professional wins (3)[]

Ladies European Tour wins (2)[]

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-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

LET Access Series wins (1)[]

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 23 Aug 2021 PGA Championship by Trelleborgs Kommun1 67-70-68=205 −8 1 stroke England Lily May Humphreys

1Co-sanctioned by the Swedish Golf Tour

Results in LPGA majors[]

Tournament 2020 2021
ANA Inspiration
U.S. Women's Open T13 T16
Women's PGA Championship
The Evian Championship NT
Women's British Open
  Did not play

NT = no tournament
T = tied

Team appearances[]

Amateur

Source:[13][3]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Maja Stark Claims Second Let Win In Three Starts". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Maja Stark Presentation". Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b "International matches". European Golf Association.
  4. ^ "Maja Stark Results". Golfdata. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Roster: Maja Stark". Oklahoma State Athletics. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Cowgirl Golf Sweeps Big 12 Golfer, Freshman, Coach Of The Year Awards". Oklahoma State. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "Maja Stark". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  8. ^ "20 Top Amateurs Added to 2020 U.S. Women's Open Field". USGA. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  9. ^ "U.S. Women's Open Leaderboard – Final". LPGA. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  10. ^ Johansson, Jesper (13 August 2021). "Stark blir proffs: "Försöker alltid att vinna"" [Stark turns professional: ”Always trying to win”] (in Swedish). Svensk Golf. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Stark Secures Maiden Professional Win". LET Access Series. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Maja Stark Claims First Let Victory After Quality Performance at Creekhouse Ladies Open". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  13. ^ "European Team Championships". European Golf Association.

External links[]

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