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USA Today
a day ago
- Health
- USA Today
'Don't be a helicopter parent': Annika Sorenstam's tips for your kid's sports experience
'Don't be a helicopter parent': Annika Sorenstam's tips for your kid's sports experience Have you been this kid? "I wouldn't raise my hand in class to answer a question in case I would say the wrong thing," Annika Sorenstam says. "I was always afraid that my classmates would laugh at me." She would even miss on purpose – maybe hit a three-putt, maybe leave the ball in the bunker – coming down the stretch at junior golf tournaments so she wouldn't have to speak in front of a crowd. "They wanted the winner to give remarks of some kind, even at early ages," she tells USA TODAY Sports, "just to kind of teach you more than the game itself, and I remember just being so afraid of it. I could finish second or third and still get a prize. "But you can imagine that would haunt me because I practiced a lot and I'm very competitive and got home knowing that I could have won it." Sorenstam, who would go on to win 10 major tournaments, 72 events on the LPGA Tour and make hundreds of post-round comments, says shyness has always been her weakness. But today it's a smaller hurdle she can clear because of the lessons she learned from her parents and from sports that she has continued to apply. She's now a mom of two teenagers (Ava, 15, and Will, 14) trying like us to distinguish their individual traits, and to give them room to grown into them, like she did. "I always tell people, 'Get back to me in 10 years,' " she says. "I'll let you know if it worked." Sorenstam, 54, has been instructing for 18 years through her ANNIKA foundation, which empowers and advances the cause of young women in golf and life. This spring and summer, she is running clinics for Bank of America's "Golf with Us" program to help give more boys and girls access to experiences similar to what she had. She doesn't formally coach Will, her rising junior golfer, though. "I've learned you don't want to be a helicopter parent," she says. "You're so invested and you're so engaged and you're so caring. We all love them so much and we just want them to succeed, and then it's just, how do you handle it?" Here's her advice for parents and their athletes to help us all try and figure out golf, sports and overcoming our fears. Foster independence through enjoyment of sport Sorenstam's mother, Gunilla, would swing a golf club when she was pregnant with her. She jokes with her daughter about how the action propelled her into her future. Sorenstam describes her development as more of "one of those slow loves." Slow, indeed. She grew up near Stockholm, Sweden, where she could whisk down ski slopes. Tennis, which she played for eight years, was her first love, not golf. "I really didn't like it in the beginning," she says. "It was for older people and I wanted to chase a ball." Gunilla and her father, Tom, weren't experts as much as facilitators for Sorenstam and her sister, Charlotta, who would also play on the LPGA Tour. The freedom to choose their favorite sport sparked curiosity. "It was just giving us the resources," Annika says. "Driving us to the golf course or driving us to the tennis tournaments, providing the stuff that we needed. Not like a coach or anything; it was more they're loving parents and not very pushy and just kind of help us and guide us through the steps. And I think that worked quite well. "I disappointed them in my own way, but not through the score. And I always felt like they had my back. And on the contrary, I wanted them to be pleased and happy with what I was doing." She reflects today with a knowing chuckle about how right it felt: the way the support built her up inside and helped her along her teenage journey. A seminal moment came when she was 16, and she had found her sport. "I want to play golf," she told her parents. "I don't think I really knew where the golf would take me," she says. "It was more just kind of a hobby. I enjoyed playing. And then I got a little better. And then I played some tournaments. And then one thing kind of led to another." 'Go with the flow': Instead of having expectations for your kid athletes, be willing to adapt and change as they do It's a process she started over again when her kids were very young and they traveled with her to golf events. "They probably thought that was work," Sorenstam says, "and that's not what they wanted to do." These can be delicate times with our kids and their sports. We can teach lessons on grip, ball position and aim by sprinkling them in while playing with friends ("It's very convincing when friends play a certain sport," she says) or having putting competitions. "I am a big believer in understanding the fundamentals of the sport early on," Sorenstam says, "and then just let them learn and let them test." We don't always have to emphasize drilling. We can take breaks, she says, to stack golf balls into pyramids or stress the concepts of the sport with a soccer ball. "Introduce them to the game so it doesn't become so focused on golf and having to do everything perfectly," she says. "I think that's when you lose your kid early, because it's all this structure. There's a fine line of having structure. There's a fine line of having etiquette. And I think you have to find that balance. "When your kid leaves the golf course or the driving range you want them to have a smile on their face. Then I think you've been successful." Over the years, we have seen Will's eyes drawn to not only Tiger and Charlie Woods but to his mom as they play the course at the PNC Championship together. "Slow down, Mommy," he said in 2023 as they walked down the 18th fairway in Orlando, Florida. "I don't want this moment to end." Will and his sister tried just about every other sport Sorenstam and husband Mike McGee played – "I was the mean mom; I didn't give him a chance to play football," Annika says – before Ava made the varsity softball team and he settled on golf. It's all he wants to do. Sorenstam has explained how she loves watching him become more of a feel player than her as he experiments with his shots. She sees a natural separation from us that comes with development. "We practice a lot together," Sorenstam says, "but he's also kind of a student of the game, so about a year ago, I said, 'I think you need to find a real coach' and he was like, 'Well, I want to work with you.' I said, 'That's fine, but then you have to listen.' That didn't really work out very well so he's working with somebody. "It's good to get a different perspective. I love to attend some of his lessons and learn so that when we do play, I can be of help a little bit, because I know what they're working on. … I know a little golf and sometimes he wants to talk about it and I feel like I can add some value, and sometimes I'm just his mom and let him do his thing. "You just gotta go with the flow. He asks a lot of questions, not so much technique with me maybe, but just (about) traveling and what was your greatest shot, your most important memory. I love to have that discussion." Coach Steve: When is it time to stop coaching your child in sports? Ask yourself these 3 questions 'Feel the temperature': Put your kids in situations to succeed, fail and express themselves Golf was hard, but Sorenstam dove into the challenge to figure it out. It was like finding a missing piece of the puzzle that formed her identity. Playing it was fun, but then it became terrifying. Tom and Gunilla started to see a pattern in Annika's near-misses at tournaments. They called ahead to an upcoming one. When it was complete, Annika was asked to say something. "My reply was, 'Well, I didn't win,' and they said, 'We know, but we'd like to hear from you,' " Sorenstam says. Her heart was pumping, her palms sweating. Her dad told her to grab her seven-iron and make a simple statement, like, "I let my clubs do the talking." "I realized after that, 'Oh, that was it,' " she says, and public speaking became easier. "It's interesting how parents sometimes, they say we did so well, but she or he played so poorly," she says. "It's like they have a third person. I think it's really important to separate the athlete vs. the human and just really understand that the sport is helping you to grow as a human being, and not vice versa. Be able to separate that and not judge by the score." Her dad's was a calculated nudge she has learned to use as a parent herself. She likes to ask Will three questions after he plays: How did it go? What did you do well? What can you do better? "And it's kind of up to him. I'm not going to tell him: 'I think you should do this better,' " she says. He'll tell her something, and then say, "I got it." "Whether he actually knows or not, he's telling himself, 'That's probably what I need to do,' " she says. "And I think for us, it's worked quite well, because I want him to be accountable and responsible for his own thing, and then if he doesn't know, then just ask me. I don't want him to feel when we get in the car ride home that he's like trapped in a car, and I'm bombarding him with questions. You have to kind of feel the temperature." Coach Steve: Tips for the car ride home. Hint: Don't be like Andre Agassi's dad It's putting the power of the experience in our kids hands for their own self-discovery, she says, no matter what our level of accomplishment. We learn with each kid when to push and when to pull back. "Hopefully he feels the safety net, but I'm only there if he needs it," she says. "Otherwise, I'm just gonna let him do his thing because that's how he learns. I've learned that myself: If he gets in a sticky situation, or if he's on the golf course (and) it's not working, he can't ask me anyway. He's gotta try to figure it out. So I might as well try to give him all the help early on and let him learn from his mistakes." 'The goal is to make great individuals': We can go the distance with sports The message with Will is one Sorenstam emphasizes to young golfers, whom she worked with in Phoenix in May and tentatively plans to see at clinics in Denver (August) and Austin (September) through "Golf with Us." Bank of America is offering kids 6 to 18 a free one-year membership through June 15 to its Youth on Course program, which grants access to rounds for $5 or less at affiliated courses. The clinics are open to Youth on Course members in the market and to children from youth partner organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Sorenstam says she's not necessarily trying to create the next superstar but use golf, or whichever sport they choose, to help unlock things like dedication, curiosity, competitiveness and attention to fitness. "The goal is to make great individuals that represent the sport, and not so much just result and performance,' she says. 'It's really tough today with pressure and expectations. It's better if you can build a solid foundation and then once you have that, you can go out and be successful in whatever you choose. 'There's so many things you can do within the sport, whether it's running an event or sports marketing or manufacturing. If you love sports, there's so many things you can do more than just play it and you can still be around the sport. [Don't forget sports writing.] To help kids find the right fit, we can be engaged from a distance while letting them learn, explore, hit and miss on their own. Kids are more resilient than you think, especially the shy ones. "People think that people that have done well, it's a straight line, straight journey; that you have no issues, you're not scared, things come really easily," she says. "But I think we all have weaknesses that we got to work on and try to improve." Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons' baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here. Got a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a column? Email him at sborelli@
USA Today
2 days ago
- Health
- USA Today
'Don't be a helicopter parent': Annika Sorenstam's tips for your kid's sports experience
'Don't be a helicopter parent': Annika Sorenstam's tips for your kid's sports experience Show Caption Hide Caption Cooper Flagg's mom shares her best tips for parents navigating youth sports Mackenzie Salmon sat down with Cooper Flagg's mom Kelly to talk about how she successfully navigated the world of youth sports. Sports Seriously Have you been this kid? "I wouldn't raise my hand in class to answer a question in case I would say the wrong thing," Annika Sorenstam says. "I was always afraid that my classmates would laugh at me." She would even miss on purpose – maybe hit a three-putt, maybe leave the ball at the bunker – coming down the stretch at junior golf tournaments so she wouldn't have to speak in front of a crowd. "They wanted the winner to give remarks of some kind, even at early ages," she tells USA TODAY Sports, "just to kind of teach you more than the game itself, and I remember just being so afraid of it. I could finish second or third and still get a prize. "But you can imagine that would haunt me because I practiced a lot and I'm very competitive and got home knowing that I could have won it." Sorenstam, who would go on to win 10 major tournaments, 72 events on the LPGA Tour and make hundreds of post-round comments, says shyness has always been her weakness. But today it's a smaller hurdle she can clear because of lessons she learned from her parents and from sports that she has continued to apply. She's now a mom of two teenagers (Ava, 15, and Will, 14) trying like us to distinguish their individual traits, and to give them room to grown into them, like she did. "I always tell people, 'Get back to me in 10 years,' " she says. "I'll let you know if it worked." Sorenstam, 54, has been instructing for 18 years through her ANNIKA foundation, which empowers and advances the cause of young women in golf and life. This spring and summer, she is running clinics for Bank of America's "Golf with Us" program to help give more boys and girls access to experiences similar to what she had. She doesn't formally coach Will, her rising junior golfer, though. "I've learned you don't want to be a helicopter parent," she says. "You're so invested and you're so engaged and you're so caring. We all love them so much and we just want them to succeed, and then it's just, how do you handle it?" Here's her advice for parents and their athletes to help us all figure out golf, sports and overcoming our fears. Foster independence through enjoyment of sport Sorenstam's mother, Gunilla, would swing a golf club when she was pregnant with her. She jokes with her daughter about how the action propelled her into her future. Sorenstam describes her development as more of "one of those slow loves." Slow, indeed. She grew up near Stockholm, Sweden, where she could whisk down ski slopes. Tennis, which she played for eight years, was her first love, not golf. "I really didn't like it in the beginning," she says. "It was for older people and I wanted to chase a ball." Gunilla and her father, Tom, weren't experts as much as facilitators for Sorenstam and her sister, Charlotta, who would also play on the LPGA Tour. The freedom to choose their favorite sport sparked curiosity. "It was just giving us the resources," Annika says. "Driving us to the golf course or driving us to the tennis tournaments, providing the stuff that we needed. Not like a coach or anything; it was more they're loving parents and not very pushy and just kind of help us and guide us through the steps. And I think that worked quite well. "I disappointed them in my own way, but not through the score. And I always felt like they had my back. And on the contrary, I wanted them to be pleased and happy with what I was doing." She reflects today with a knowing chuckle about how right it felt: the way the support built her up inside and helped her along her teenage journey. A seminal moment came when she was 16, and she had found her sport. "I want to play golf," she told her parents. "I don't think I really knew where the golf would take me," she says. "It was more just kind of a hobby. I enjoyed playing. And then I got a little better. And then I played some tournaments. And then one thing kind of led to another." 'Go with the flow': Instead of having expectations for your kid athletes, be willing to adapt and change as they do It's a process she started over again when her kids were very young and they traveled with her to golf events. "They probably thought that was work," Sorenstam says, "and that's not what they wanted to do." These can be delicate times with our kids and their sports. We can teach lessons on grip, ball position and aim by sprinkling them in while playing with friends ("It's very convincing when friends play a certain sport," she says) or having putting competitions. "I am a big believer in understanding the fundamentals of the sport early on," Sorenstam says, "and then just let them learn and let them test." We don't always have to emphasize drilling. We can take breaks, she says, to stack golf balls into pyramids or stress the concepts of the sport with a soccer ball. "Introduce them to the game so it doesn't become so focused on golf and having to do everything perfectly," she says. "I think that's when you lose your kid early, because it's all this structure. There's a fine line of having structure. There's a fine line of having etiquette. And I think you have to find that balance. "When your kid leaves the golf course or the driving range you want them to have a smile on their face. Then I think you've been successful." Over the years, we have seen Will's eyes drawn to not only Tiger and Charlie Woods but to his mom as they play the course at the PNC Championship together. "Slow down, Mommy," he said in 2023 as they walked down the 18th fairway in Orlando, Florida. "I don't want this moment to end." Will and his sister tried just about every other sport Sorenstam and husband Mike McGee played – "I was the mean mom; I didn't give him a chance to play football," Annika says – before Ava made the varsity softball team and he settled on golf. It's all he wants to do. Sorenstam has explained how she loves watching him become more of a feel player than her as he experiments with his shots. She sees a natural separation from us that comes with development. "We practice a lot together," Sorenstam says, "but he's also kind of a student of the game, so about a year ago, I said, 'I think you need to find a real coach' and he was like, 'Well, I want to work with you.' I said, 'That's fine, but then you have to listen.' That didn't really work out very well so he's working with somebody. "It's good to get a different perspective. I love to attend some of his lessons and learn so that when we do play, I can be of help a little bit, because I know what they're working on. … I know a little golf and sometimes he wants to talk about it and I feel like I can add some value, and sometimes I'm just his mom and let him do his thing. "You just gotta go with the flow. He asks a lot of questions, not so much technique with me maybe, but just (about) traveling and what was your greatest shot, your most important memory. I love to have that discussion." Coach Steve: When is it time to stop coaching your child in sports? Ask yourself these 3 questions 'Feel the temperature': Put your kids in situations to succeed, fail and express themselves Golf was hard, but Sorenstam dove into the challenge to figure it out. It was like finding a missing piece of the puzzle that formed her identity. Playing it was fun, but then it became terrifying. Tom and Gunilla started to see a pattern in Annika's near-misses at tournaments. They called ahead to an upcoming one. When it was complete, Annika was asked to say something. "My reply was, 'Well, I didn't win,' and they said, 'We know, but we'd like to hear from you,' " Sorenstam says. Her heart was pumping, her palms sweating. Her dad told her to grab her seven iron and say something simple like, "I let my clubs do the talking." "I realized after that, 'Oh, that was it,' " she says, and public speaking became easier. "It's interesting how parents sometimes, they say we did so well, but she or he played so poorly," she says. "It's like they have a third person. I think it's really important to separate the athlete vs. the human and just really understand that the sport is helping you to grow as a human being, and not vice versa. Be able to separate that and not judge by the score." Her dad's was a calculated nudge she has learned to use as a parent herself. She likes to ask Will three questions after he plays: How did it go? What did you do well? What can you do better? "And it's kind of up to him. I'm not going to tell him: 'I think you should do this better,' " she says. He'll tell her something, and then say, "I got it." "Whether he actually knows or not, he's telling himself, 'That's probably what I need to do,' " she says. "And I think for us, it's worked quite well, because I want him to be accountable and responsible for his own thing, and then if he doesn't know, then just ask me. I don't want him to feel when we get in the car ride home that he's like trapped in a car, and I'm bombarding him with questions. You have to kind of feel the temperature." Coach Steve: Tips for the car ride home. Hint: Don't be like Andre Agassi's dad It's putting the power of the experience in our kids hands for their own self-discovery, she says, no matter what our level of accomplishment. We learn with each kid when to push and when to pull back. "Hopefully he feels the safety net, but I'm only there if he needs it," she says. "Otherwise, I'm just gonna let him do his thing because that's how he learns. I've learned that myself: If he gets in a sticky situation, or if he's on the golf course (and) it's not working, he can't ask me anyway. He's gotta try to figure it out. So I might as well try to give him all the help early on and let him learn from his mistakes." 'The goal is to make great individuals': We can go the distance with sports The message with Will is one Sorenstam emphasizes to young golfers, whom she worked with in Phoenix in May and tentatively plans to see at clinics in Denver (August) and Austin (September) through "Golf with Us." Bank of America is offering kids 6 to 18 a free one-year membership through June 15 to its Youth on Course program, which grants access to rounds for $5 or less at affiliated courses. The clinics are open to Youth on Course members in the market and to children from youth partner organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Sorenstam says she's not necessarily trying to create the next superstar but use golf, or whichever sport they choose, to help unlock things like dedication, curiosity, competitiveness and attention to fitness. "The goal is to make great individuals that represent the sport, and not so much just result and performance,' she says. 'It's really tough today with pressure and expectations. It's better if you can build a solid foundation and then once you have that, you can go out and be successful in whatever you choose. 'There's so many things you can do within the sport, whether it's running an event or sports marketing or manufacturing. If you love sports, there's so many things you can do more than just play it and you can still be around the sport. [Don't forget sports writing.] To help kids find the right fit, we can be engaged from a distance while letting them learn, explore, hit and miss on their own. Kids are more resilient than you think, especially the shy ones. "People think that people that have done well, it's a straight line, straight journey; that you have no issues, you're not scared, things come really easily," she says. "But I think we all have weaknesses that we got to work on and try to improve." Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons' baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here. Got a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a column? Email him at sborelli@
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Sweden's Stark holds nerve to win US Women's Open
US Women's Open final standings -7 M Stark (Swe); -5 N Korda (US), R Taneka (Jpn); -4 H-J Choi (Kor), R Yin (Chi), M Saigo (Jpn); -3 H Cooper (US), H Shibuno (Jpn)Selected others: -1 C Hull (Eng), +1 J Lopez Ramirez (Spa), +2 M Lee (Aus), +3 L Ko (NZ), +5 L Woad (Eng), +9 G Dryburgh (Sco)Full leaderboard Maja Stark claimed her first major title with a two-shot victory at the US Women's Open to become the third Swede to lift the the first Swedish winner since Annika Sorenstam won her third title in 2006, held off the challenge of world number one Nelly Korda of the United States and Japan's Rio Taneka at Erin Hills in Wisconsin."This just feels huge," she said after a closing round of level-par 72 saw her win on seven under. "You always know that it's possible, but there are so many good golfers on this tour. I [didn't] think I would be able to do it this week."I just didn't want to get ahead of myself. I thought there's still a lot of golf left to be played and I just felt like people are going to pass me probably, and I just had to stay calm through that."I didn't look at the leaderboards until I was on 17. I caught a glimpse of it. It was nice."The 25-year-old started the final round with a one-shot lead and extended her lead to two with her first birdie of the day at the sixth as her playing partner Julia Lopez Ramirez who was three back at the start of the day, closed to within one after playing the front nine in two under Stark birdied the 11th, moments after Korda bogeyed the 13th, to take control and she reached nine under when she picked up another shot on the challenge petered out on the back nine and she closed with a bogey as she recorded her best finish in the US Women's allowed Stark the comfort of finishing with successive bogeys on the final two who has won two majors, is still seeking her first victory since November and the 26-year-old had mixed feelings after her final round of 71."It's still very complicated," she said of her relationship with the championship. "It's just an absolute heartbreaker."Hopefully I can build off of this, putting myself in contention at a major and obviously just slipping just short. It hurts a little, but I'm happy with the progress and hopefully I can continue like this."England's Charley Hull started the final round at level par and had four birdies and 10 pars in her opening 14 holes to climb the leaderboard. But she bogeyed the 15th and dropped two more shots on the 17th as she closed with a 71 to finish joint 12th on one Englishwoman Lottie Woad finished with a three-over 75 to pick up the prize as the best amateur on five Gemma Dryburgh, who was three under at the halfway stage, closed with a second successive 78 to drop to nine over par.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Sweden's Maja Stark wins US Women's Open for her first major championship
ERIN, Wisconsin: Maja Stark has lost her confidence heading into the US Women's Open. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Her decision to stop worrying about that sparked her to the biggest title in women's golf. The 25-year-old Swede shot an even-par 72 on Sunday and stayed ahead all day. Her four-day total of 7-under 281 at Erin Hills left her two strokes ahead of top-ranked Nelly Korda and Japan's Rio Takeda. 'I think that I just stopped trying to control everything, and I just kind of let everything happen the way it happened,' Stark said. 'During the practice days, I realized that, if I just kind of hovered the club above the ground a little bit before I hit, I released some tension in my body. I think that just doing my processes well and knowing, giving myself little things like that was the key this week because I don't really want to rely on my confidence for stuff.' Stark became the sixth Swede to win a women's major, and the first since Anna Nordqvist in the 2021 Women's British Open. Stark also won her second career LPGA Tour title. The former Oklahoma State player is the first Swede to win a US Women's Open since Annika Sorenstam earned her third title in 2006. The only other Swede to win this event was Liselotte Neumann in 1988. 'They texted me yesterday and just kind of said, 'Bring it home,' ' Stark said. Stark's steadiness made the difference as she held off Korda and a host of other challengers. Korda closed with a 71, and Takeda had a 72 to tie for second. Hye-Jin Choi (68), Ruoning Yin (70) and Mao Saigo (73) tied for fourth at 4 under. Hailee Cooper (70) and Hinako Shibuno (74) were 3 under. Stark's playing partner, Julia Lopez Ramirez, fell out of contention early on her way to 79 that left her tied for 19th. Lopez Ramirez, who entered the day just one shot off the lead, had a triple bogey on 18. This was as close as Korda has come to winning a US Women's Open. Korda discussed her 'complicated relationship' with the US Women's Open this week, as her best previous finish was a tie for eighth place in 2022 at Pine Needles. She missed the cut at this tournament last year after posting a 80 in the opening round. 'I played this event when I was 14 years old, so maybe a little bit more emotional about it,' Korda said. 'I mean, definitely it's gotten my heart broken a couple times. ... To have that showing last year definitely put a dagger into my heart, but that's just golf. You're going to lose more than you win a majority of the time. 'I feel like I actually learn a lot about myself and my game and where I need to improve playing the US Women's Open because it does test every part of your game.' Korda birdied Nos. 7 and 8, but missed a 9-foot birdie putt on No. 9 that would have tied her for the lead. Korda's birdie attempt on No. 9 came minutes after Stark's bogey-free streak ended at 21 on No. 7. Stark then extended her lead to three by making a 14-foot birdie putt on No. 11 immediately after Korda missed a par putt of just under 5 feet at No. 13. Korda, Shibuno and Takeda got within two strokes of Stark with birdies on the par-5 14th, though Korda missed a 14-foot eagle putt and Shibuno missed an eagle attempt from 9 1/2 feet. Stark then made a birdie of her own on No. 14 to regain her three-stroke advantage at 9 under. She maintained that lead despite bogeying the last two holes. 'I didn't look at the leaderboards until I was on like 17,' Stark said. 'I caught a glimpse of it. It was nice. I wasn't as nervous as I thought that I would be because it felt like I have somewhat control of my game and I kind of know what's going on.' Stark credited caddie Jeff Brighton, a former standup comedian who helped keep her loose by telling jokes and making sure she didn't dwell on what was at stake. 'We just kind of tried to talk about some stuff and not be too into my own putt,' she said. Said Brighton: 'I would say Maja's quite an intense player. She tries really hard and is really competitive, so when (a player's) intense, you're trying between shots to just get their head away from golf.' He spoke wearing a cheesehead similar to the ones seen at Green Bay Packers games Stark maintained her poise well enough to earn a $2.4 million prize in the most lucrative event of the year. Now she just needs to figure out how to spend her winnings. 'Maybe move out of my studio apartment can be one thing,' Stark quipped.
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Sweden's Maja Stark wins U.S. Women's Open for first major championship
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 US$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.
