Sweden's Maja Stark wins the U.S. Women's Open for her first major championship
Associated Press
ERIN, Wis. (AP) — Maja Stark continued the steady play she had demonstrated all week to win the U.S. Women's Open and claim her first major championship Sunday at Erin Hills.
Stark carded a final round 72 and finished with a four-round total of 7-under 281 to beat top-ranked Nelly Korda and Japan's Rio Takeda by two strokes.
Stark received a $2.4 million winner's prize in the biggest event of the women's golf season.
The 25-year-old Stark became the sixth Swede to win an LPGA major, and the first since Anna Nordqvist earned the Women's British Open title in 2021.
Stark, who played at Oklahoma State from 2019-21, is the first Swede to win a U.S. Women's Open since Annika Sorenstam in 2006.
This is Stark's second LPGA title. She also won the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational, a Ladies European Tour event in Northern Ireland that was co-sanctioned with the LPGA Tour.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf in this topic
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
30 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
French Open: Musetti kicks a ball that hits a line judge and is cited for unsportsmanlike conduct
PARIS (AP) — Lorenzo Musetti was warned for unsportsmanlike conduct for kicking a tennis ball that inadvertently hit a linesperson during his French Open quarterfinal against Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday. Unlike most top-level tennis tournaments, which rely on electronic line-calling, there are still humans on court at Roland-Garros to make rulings on whether shots land in or out. The eighth-seeded Musetti, who won a bronze medal for Italy at the Paris Olympics and was a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year, had just dropped a game to trail Tiafoe 5-3 in the second set of their match at Court Philippe-Chatrier. As Musetti was given balls so he could serve in the next game, he took a left-footed swipe at one and it flew into a female line judge making calls behind his baseline. The chair umpire immediately announced to the crowd that Musetti was being given a warning for a code violation. There is no penalty for an initial warning of that sort. Soon, Tiafoe claimed that set. Musetti had taken the opener in the best-of-five-set match with a semifinal berth at stake. Neither of them has been to the final four at Roland-Garros.
San Francisco Chronicle
30 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Justin Rose is 15 years removed from his first PGA Tour win and still going strong
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Justin Rose has reason to feel his age at the Memorial when he sees his framed photo on the wall of his first PGA Tour victory. That was 15 years ago. 'It's quite amazing when I think about it like that,' he said. 'Fifteen years. The image I have is my little son Leo was kind of messing around in a bunker behind 18.' Rose turns 45 next month, and the number that should impress him is being No. 19 in the world ranking. He has had a few wobbles over the years but is fully entrenched in the top 50, eligible for all the majors for the 15th consecutive year. 'I think I'm getting to a stage in my career where that is the goal now, sort of having pride of performance and trying to buck the trend of what is a natural aging process,' he said. 'There are things that get more difficult, but yeah, you don't want to kind of believe it. I still think my good (golf) is good, which is what I've seen this year. 'It's been inconsistent this year, but my good is good, and that's the most important thing to see.' There are examples of players still going strong in their 40s, even as the PGA Tour trends younger. One would be longtime friend Adam Scott, who also turns 45 next month and is approaching 100 straight majors. Another longtime friend born in 1980 was Sergio Garcia. 'I think we're the three players that have kind of kept the form, in terms of just being out on tour and competing and popping our names up on the leaderboard once in a while,' Rose said. Rose also said he was inspired by Steve Stricker, who rediscovered his game after a deep slump and reached No. 2 in the world in his 40s. 'I think he won nine times in his 40s,' Rose said. 'I think he did it living in the Midwest, locking things up for winter, having a great family, didn't sacrifice the world in order to do it. He's a really good role model from that point of view.' Rose has the week off before going to the U.S. Open. He hasn't missed this major since 2010, right after he won the Memorial. It was his victory that led the USGA to create another exemption category to use the world ranking the week before the U.S. Open. The road to the Masters began Sunday for those wanting a ticket, and it will cost a little more. But not much, and it's still by far the best bargain for major sporting events. The Masters opened its lottery to apply for tickets, and Sports Business Journal reports a slight increase for practice-round tickets. It cost $100 in 2025. Next year the price is $125 for Monday and Tuesday, and $150 for Wednesday (which includes the Par 3 Contest). Tickets for tournament days (a maximum of two per day) are now $160, compared with $140 in 2025. Of course, the hard part is being able to purchase them. The lottery application ends on June 20, and winners are notified in July. The Nicklaus filter Jack Nicklaus has reached the age (85) and time around the PGA Tour (65 years) to speak freely. Very freely. He made that much clear during the broadcast Friday when television did a walk-and-talk with Ben Griffin as he played the 17th hole. 'I can't stand that, the interview on the golf course,' Nicklaus said when it was over. And he was just getting warmed up. 'Let me tell you how I think, how I feel,' he said. 'I mean, seriously, here's a guy who's leading the golf tournament, he's just hit the edge of the rough, he's got a very difficult shot on a very difficult hole, and you're talking to him about stuff that totally takes his mind off of what he was doing. 'How would you think (Ben) Hogan would respond to that question?' Nicklaus said. 'You would not have any teeth left if you did.' Nicklaus generally likes the advancements in the PGA Tour, understanding that times change. But he cares deeply about the integrity of competition. By the end of the week, he also said only what most people think. Scottie Scheffler was leading and eventually pulled away by playing the last eight holes with two birdies and six pars. Nicklaus said Scheffler did what he had to do with the competition chasing him. 'Ben Griffin's a nice player, Sepp Straka is a nice player, Nick Taylor is a nice player. Those were all the guys that were there basically coming down the stretch,' Nicklaus said. 'But he knows that those guys are not in his league. Now, if he would have had ... Xander (Schauffele) or somebody like that would have been there, he might have said: 'Well, that might be a little tougher. I might have to do something different.' He didn't have to.' Shades with a purpose The shades for which Ben Griffin is becoming known is not about style. Griffin, who won the Colonial and was runner-up to Scottie Scheffler at the Memorial, said he began seeing floaters a year ago and was told by his eye doctor that his retina was trying to detach itself. 'I had retinal holes, so I had to go get basically laser surgery to fill in those holes,' he said. 'I had eight retinal holes in both eyes, so I was at risk of losing vision maybe within five or six months had I not gotten the treatment.' He still sees floaters. The surgery was to maintain his level. The sunglasses help. 'When I wear sunglasses it's a little bit darker out, so I don't necessarily see the floaters as well,' Griffin said. 'So if it's really bright out and I'm not wearing the sunglasses, I look into the clouds or whatever and I see black stuff everywhere.' There's one other advantage. He says the glasses help reading greens. 'I love the ability to see the contrast a little bit better, then when it's really bright, it's kind of hard to see grain changes from time to time,' he said. 'So seeing contours is definitely a little bit easier I think with the sunglasses.' Divots The PGA Tour picked up another extension when Deere & Company agreed to a new deal that keeps title sponsorship of the John Deere Classic through 2030. ... Muirfield, which hasn't hosted the British Open since 2013, will hold the Women's British Amateur for the first time next year. The R&A also announced the British Amateur would be at Royal Liverpool. ... David Graham, the Australian great who won the 1979 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills and the 1981 U.S. Open at Merion, was selected as the Memorial honoree for 2026. ... Mexican brothers Carlos and Alvaro Ortiz both qualified and will play in the same U.S. Open for the second time. They also were at Torrey Pines in 2021. 'This old man, as long as he's around, is always here as a sounding board if you need it.' — Jack Nicklaus to the five Nicklaus Award winners from each level of college golf. ___
San Francisco Chronicle
31 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Swimming world body to banish athletes and supporters of doping-fueled event in Las Vegas
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Swimmers and officials who compete in and support a doping-fueled sports event planned in Las Vegas will be banished from the sport, the governing body World Aquatics said on Tuesday. Organizers of the Enhanced Games scheduled next May promise $1 million bonuses for athletes who beat world record times over sprint distances in the pool or on the track. Weightlifting also is on the program. A small group of past Olympic swimmers, including three-time medalist James Magnussen of Australia, are among athletes who signed up for the event that aims to push limits beyond the rules of clean sport. 'Those who enable doped sport are not welcome at World Aquatics or our events,' its president Husain al-Musallam said in a statement after the decision. The new rule targets those who 'support, endorse, or participate in sporting events that embrace the use of scientific advancements or other practices that may include prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods,' the world swim body said. 'This ineligibility would apply to roles such as athlete, coach, team official, administrator, medical support staff, or government representative.' Enhanced Games organizers had a launch event last month for the inaugural event at a Vegas resort, with plans for a year-round training base. Athletes are not subject to doping tests though they should have their health monitored. The project also involves selling personalized programs of supplements and substances to people who pay a refundable $99 deposit. One investment group is backed by Donald Trump Jr. The World Anti-Doping Agency has criticized the idea first touted in 2023 as dangerous and irresponsible. ___
