It’s early December, six months removed from her 2025 US Women’s Open win, and Maja Stark is finally starting to feel her competitive fire again.
That might sound like an odd thing to say about the greatest champion and best player in the world, but Stark’s recent form has lacked something. Despite his Open victory at Wisconsin’s Erin Hills in June, the months since have been a struggle.
“When I won, I kept thinking, Well, I just did the biggest thing I will ever do in my career,” said Stark.” “For weeks, maybe months, I couldn’t stop thinking about that week. And it made me lose some motivation. I didn’t really know what to pursue next.”
The 26-year-old Swede describes the post-success depression, something only those who have reached the top are familiar with: the emotional breakdown after a big success. He had fulfilled a dream he had since childhood. All his dreams, in fact: Solheim Cup winner (with the European Team in 2023); Olympian (of Sweden, at the ’24 games in Paris); LPGA Tour winner (ISPS Handa World Invitational in 2022); six-time winner on the European circuit; and now, the great champion. Suddenly, the CV felt … perfect.
“It was like looking at the last big box,” he said, driving from his home in Nashville, Tenn., where he moved after his run at Oklahoma State University. “I’ve seen a lot of amazing things already, and I wasn’t sure what else to do after that.”
After her win over Erin Hills, Stark missed seven of her nine cuts. This is where his team came in.
He says: “They helped me to understand what was happening. “We sat down and started creating new goals. Small at first.”
They weren’t high – for example: two more before the end of the 2025 season. And he didn’t meet them often. But they served their purpose.
“I needed something for a while to relieve my stress,” Stark said with a laugh. “In a good way. I needed something to chase.”
That renewed sense of the chase is central to who Stark is—not just as a competitor but as a professional. His Open win didn’t come from riding a hot giant. In 2025, he had only one top 10 before arriving at Erin Hills. It came from some resolution.
“I had really low confidence going into that week,” he recalls. “Nothing was clicking. I was trying to find anything.”
That “whatever” turned out to be an easy start. While preparing with his coach, Joe Hallett, Stark noticed something about his putting technique: He always moves the putterhead slightly above the ground before bringing it back. What if he tries the same thing with his instruments?
“I thought maybe it would help me lose control and start swinging better,” he said. “I had a million thoughts in my head, and I needed one to topple all the others.”
Diana King
There was another little key as well: keeping his eyes locked on the ball long enough for impact, to prevent his hips from firing early and opening them up. The combination helped him sharpen his touch. Perhaps more importantly, it helped him quiet his mind.
Stark remembers the moment he heard that something big might be brewing. It was Thursday that week. It was Sunday. It was Wednesday, in the first nine rounds of practice.
“I was playing really good instruments, too [Golf Channel course reporter] Karen Stupples stepped out on the tee where we were,” Stark said. “When someone like Karen — a former major leaguer — is watching, you want to show that you’re good. I hit a 4-iron on the 8th and hit a terrific pin and made birdie.”
It was not a prediction of victory, but it was a hint, an intensity of belief that appeared at the right time. At the end of the week he raised the crown, his determination became true. Calls poured in from her parents, her coach and, most memorably, her Swedish teammate and mentor Annika Sörenstam. “He took time out of his little trip to Alaska to call me,” Stark said. “That was really good.”
Now, a few months later, Stark’s vision of that week has come into focus. He’s grateful for the win but equally grateful to feel “normal” again — to feel a healthy pressure to improve, to care about the moment rather than the past, so he can get back to the grind. Short-term goals still guide the day, but a new long-term vision is developing. The officer did not mark the top of the mountain, he marked the beginning of another climb.
“I feel stressed about my golf and, again, for me,” he said, smiling, “that’s a really good feeling.”
