ERIN, Wisconsin: Maja Stark has lost her confidence heading into the US Women’s Open.

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.

DUBLIN, Ohio: Scottie Scheffler was at his best on a tough day at Muirfield Village, opening with 13 straight pars and then pouring it on at the end for a 4-under 68 that gave him a one-shot lead Saturday over Ben Griffin at the Memorial.
Scheffler birdied four of his last five holes, finishing with a birdie from just inside 15 feet. He took the lead when Griffin missed a 3-foot par putt on the final hole.
At stake for Scheffler is a chance to win for the third time in his last four tournaments and join Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winners at the Memorial.
“I don’t know what the scoring average was today, but I was definitely proud of the way I finished and it was really challenging,” Scheffler said. “Through 13 holes, I felt like I was playing really good and I was only even par. Just a hard course.”
The scoring average for the 57 players who made the cut was 73.9, and three players failed to break 80. Scheffler, the only player to break par all three rounds, was at 8-under 208.
Griffin, who won last week at Colonial, made five birdies and five bogeys over his last 13 holes.
Scheffler was six shots behind Griffin at one point in the cool, blustery weather. And then it all changed so quickly.
Griffin, who became the only player this week to reach 10-under par when he ran off three straight birdies, gave it all back with four straight bogeys. He was in the fairway or on the tee when he made three of those bogeys.
Scheffler was lurking, as always. The world’s No. 1 player has an uncanny knack of hanging around and winding up with the low score by the end of the day. This was no exception.
“I did see that Ben got to 10 under, but it’s not going to change my play in the middle of a Saturday,” Scheffler said. “This golf course is really challenging and no lead’s safe around this place. I knew if I kept going and played a decent round, I would be in somewhat of a position to chase him down tomorrow.”
He holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 14th — his first of the day — followed getting on the collar of the green at the par-5 15th for a simple birdie. He hit 7-iron into the wind to 8 feet for birdie and closed with the last one that gave him the lead.
He’s no longer chasing, and he’s a tough customer to track down. Scheffler has won the last eight times when he held the 54-hole lead.
Jordan Spieth also was in the chase, tied with Scheffler in second place at one point, until he failed to save par from a bunker on the 17th and drove into the creek on the 18th for a closing bogey and a 72. He was five shots behind, feeling better about his game.
There was just one problem. Spieth talked about the fun of being in the mix, of making six birdies on a tough course, of needing to keep moving in that direction. And then he paused.
“The bummer for me is Scottie’s at 7 or 8 (under) and he just ... you can’t count on him shooting even tomorrow,” Spieth said. “So it would take something special. But all in all, just trying to shoot a few under each day out here.”
Nick Taylor of Canada wound up three shots behind after a 74, and for that he was thankful at the end. Taylor went into the water and made double bogey on the diabolical par-3 12th, followed that with a bogey and was sliding out of contention. And then he holed out from fairway for eagle at the 14th, birdied the next hole and played that four-stretch in even par.
The best round belonged to Sepp Straka, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year. He posted a 66 as the leaders were just getting started and was in the group at 3-under 213 that included Spieth and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (68).
Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler each shot 69 and joined Shane Lowry (73) at 214. It’s a long way off, and it can feel even longer with Scheffler the one they are chasing.
“It’s a tough golf course. I’ll be trying to chase him down,” Taylor said. “He’s obviously playing phenomenal, so I’ll have to play some of my best golf to be in the hunt there with the last few holes to go. But it is playing so difficult that being a few under early will get me back in there.”