When Maja Stark rolled into the winner's circle at Erin Hills on Sunday, it didn't take long for Linn Grant and Ingrid Lindblad to come up and spray her with champagne. Three players from the same young Swedish golf generation, where 25-year-old Stark became the first – but perhaps not the last – to win a major.
For Maja, it's a self-confidence boost, of course, but it's probably almost as big for Linn and Ingrid. We all thought maybe it would be bigger for one of the two to do it. They know now that "if Maja can do it, we can too," says Fredrik Wetterstrand, the overall coach for the Swedish women's pros.
”Extremely good”
Wetterstrand has been following the players since they were in their early teenage years. Not least Maja Stark. After coaching her in the girls' national team and the national team, he continued as her head coach until last year. Now, the 53-year-old is still in Stark's inner circle of coaches.
I think Maja's victory will give her increased faith in things she does. The processes she talks about – continuing to play aggressively even when she's scared and acceptance of nervousness. I think that's one of the most important things she'll take with her, he says.
The day after the US Open win, he wrote a long, affectionate post on Facebook about Skåne's journey throughout her career. How she, as a shy 15-year-old, came to a golf camp with "a football under one arm and a guitar under the other". How she was dropped from Fredrik Wetterstrand's first girls' national team squad. And how she took the biggest win of them all on Sunday.
One thing I wanted to convey, both to parents and younger players, is that it wasn't a given that this would happen to Maja, he says.
Now Stark competes again
In a way, Maja Stark's US Open triumph was also a victory for the Swedish philosophy of aggressive play, which has characterized the young blue-and-yellow golf generation.
Stark had a 41st place, a 44th place, and a missed cut in the three tournaments leading up to the US Open win.
Plain and simple, it's much better for it to look like this than for us to come 25th every week. That's a bit of our philosophy. Playing the aggressive game means it will go to hell sometimes. And that's fine. What defines careers and gives a boost to rankings is: how good are you when you're good?
Last week, Maja Stark was the best. This week, she competes again, in the LPGA tournament in New Jersey. Stark starts her first round on Friday evening, Swedish time.
Carl Göransson/TT
Facts: Summer's major tournaments
TT
Three of the season's five major tournaments remain for the women's golfers.
June 19-22, PGA Championship in Frisco, Texas.
July 10-13, European Championship in Evian-les-Bains, France.
July 31-August 3, British Open in Porthcawl, Wales.
Born: December 10, 1999, in Abbekås.
Became a pro: 2021.
World ranking: Sixth (climbed from 33rd place after last week's win in the US Open).
Current as: Competing again this week in the LPGA tournament in New Jersey, which is played over only three rounds. Stark tees off at 19.04, Swedish time, on Friday evening. In the same group, world number one Nelly Korda, USA, and Mao Saigo, Japan, who won this year's first major Chevron Championship.
Other Swedish women in the starting lineup: Madelene Sagström, Linnea Ström, Frida Kinhult, and Dani Holmqvist.
