The only one who was too difficult this time was the Australian Hannah Green. Green won the competition at Wilshire Country Club last year as well.
24-year-old Stark’s second-place finish follows last weekend’s second-place finish at the Chevron Championship in Texas, which was her career-best major finish to date.
– I am very proud of my game. I got in a lot of good shots, even if the nerves took over for a while. But I was able to come back and it felt good, says Stark and describes the whole thing as an exercise in patience.
Stark made five birdies in the closing round, four of them on the last six holes. Unfortunately, there were also two bogeys for Stark, who finished three strokes behind Hannah Green.
Madelene Sagström played the best of all in the final round, 65 strokes, and climbed to a tie for eighth place.
Even before the competition in Los Angeles, Maja Stark had climbed to 28th place in the world ranking, the best of all Swedes. The latest success will give Stark another substantial boost in the ranking – and will bring her ever closer to one of the two Swedish Olympic places in Paris this summer.
On the LPGA tour’s overall standings “Race to CME Globe†Maja Stark is fourth. Nelly Korda, who rested last week, leads in superior style after her five straight victories. Before Stark there are also Lydia Ko and Hannah Green.
In the money league, however, only Korda is ahead of Stark in the ranking. In a total of nine competitions, the star from Abbekås has earned more than twelve million kroner, almost all of which was recorded during the last month’s successes, which began with a third place in Arizona.
Now a competition-free week awaits Stark before she perks up again in New Jersey, 9–12 May. The next major is the US Open, which is played at the turn of May–June.
Facts.Maja Stark
Born: December 10, 1999.
World Ranking: 28th (ahead of second place in Los Angeles).
Career: Made success right away when she turned pro in 2021 and won right away on the European Tour. Won her so far only competition on the LPGA tour the following year and last year Stark made her debut in Europe’s Solheim Cup team.
This year’s achievements: Finished third in the LPGA competition in Arizona at the end of March. The last two weeks have offered two second places, in the major Chevron Championship outside Houston and now in Los Angeles. There are many indications that Stark will take one of Sweden’s two Olympic spots in Paris.
