Sweden's Maja Stark holds off Nelly Korda and Rio Takeda to clinch US Women's Open title

Irish Independent

2 days ago

The 25-year-old became the sixth Swede to win a women's major, finishing two strokes ahead of Rio Takeda and World number one Nelly Korda.
Korda carded 71 on the final day, while Takeda shot 72, both ending the tournament at five-under.
Mao Saigo, Hye-Jin Choi and Ruoning Yin finished the tournament tied for fourth at four under, while Hailee Cooper and Hinako Shibuno finished three under.
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The competition tightened as Korda, Shibuno, and Takeda birdied the par-five 14th, cutting Stark's lead to two strokes.
But Shibuno narrowly missed a nine-and-a-half-foot eagle attempt and Korda came up short on her own eagle putt.
Stark responded with a birdie of her own on 14, restoring her three-shot lead before finishing the round with bogeys on the final two holes.
Stark entered the final round with a one-stroke lead, one stroke ahead of Julia Lopez Ramirez, who ended the day tied for 19th.
'It feels so surreal, and it felt like it was so far away just a couple of weeks ago,' she told LPGA in the aftermath of her win.
'Just last week, my confidence was so low, and then I had a special friend tell me that you need to be confident. You need to trust yourself, and that's what I try to do. I try to make myself and everyone on my team proud.'
Korda's runner-up finish is her strongest showing at the US Women's Open, improving on an eighth-place tie in 2022.