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Maja Stark wins the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills.
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Hello friends, and happy Sunday from the U.S. Women’s Open, where I have been marked “safe” from Julia Lopez Ramirez’s approach shot on the 72nd hole.
I write to you all as I enjoy a slice of pizza in the media center here at Erin Hills at the end of a superb week of golf on a beautiful golf course. I usually leave most U.S. Opens (see: Lancaster, Newport and Pinehurst in 2024) and think about how I’d really like to live in that area, and I mean it when I say that I am a massive fan of Erin Hills and the surrounding neighborhoods. I’ve also become a fan of cheese curds and local ice cream this week as well.
But enough about me. Let’s get into all of the action and the incredible performance from the champion, Maja Stark!
Waiting for the champion
One of my favorite moments of major championships (and all golf tournaments) is when players stick around to watch a competitor and friend sink the winning putt. Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy’s embrace after the 72nd hole at the Masters was my favorite moment of the week, and I felt the same excitement watching Linn Grant and Ingrid Lindblad eagerly wait to embrace their friend on the green.
Stark’s family watched the U.S. Women’s Open from back home in Sweden, so I can only imagine how much it meant for her to have some pals there to see her win. They showered Stark with champagne and water moments after she drained the winning putt.
The winning interview
Every so often, really good golfers will either do or say something that’s extremely relatable, and that’s exactly what Maja Stark did in her winning interview with Cara Banks on Sunday evening. When asked what the greatest test at Erin Hills was this week, here’s what Stark had to say:
“I think it’s probably the greens because the USGA just loves to make it hard for us and loves to put pins on little ridges, and they look scary. You’ll see it’s into the grain to the hole, and then with the grain after the hole, so you know, just seeing that the whole week, I’m so tired of them.”
Ok, sure. So she definitely handles major championship greens way better than the rest of us ever could, but who among us has not been exhausted after a long, tough day (or week) out on the course?
Stark also admitted she struggled with confidence coming into this week:
“I mean, it feels so surreal. It felt like it was so far away just a couple a weeks ago, and just last week, my confidence was so low and just last week I had a friend tell me, you need to be confident and you need to trust yourself. That’s what I tried to do, to make myself and everyone on my team proud.”
Stark doubled down on this during her winning press conference as well:
“Before this week, I was worried that I wasn’t really going to play decent golf for a while because it felt like it was so far away. So this just feels huge.”
So while you’re probably not very close to winning a major championship, this is a good reminder that you’re probably closer than you think to that lofty golf goal of yours, whether it’s breaking 100 or 80 or maybe just three-putting a lot less.
The winning caddie
Jeff Brighton has only been on Maja Stark’s bag for a few weeks, but he’s no stranger to being on the bag. He used to caddie for Colin Montgomerie and Bronte Law, and he looked right at home as he threw on Mike Whan’s cheesehead (it’s a Wisconsin thing) and accepted the winning caddie award.
Turns out Brighton is a comedian as well as a professional looper, and Stark said he kept her loose out there by keeping her focused on his jokes instead of how she’s feeling out on the course. Sounds like they make a great team!
Celebration plans
I’m always curious to learn how major winners celebrate their victories. On one hand, they must be exhausted. On the other hand, their wildest dreams just came true, so how could you not at least celebrate a little bit?
When asked what the winning celebrations might look like, Stark’s caddie, Jeff Brighton, said that there would be “carnage” and then didn’t elaborate. Fair enough! Stark’s friend Ingrid Lindblad said she hopes Stark buys a first-class ticket home. And when Stark was asked what she’ll do with her $2.4 million winner’s check, she said, “Maybe move out of my studio apartment can be one thing. I don’t know. I’m very happy with what I have in my life right now. I think just having the security for the future, I think I’ll just be very happy about that.”
