On a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon at Erin Hills, Sweden’s Maja Stark held on to win the 80th U.S. Women’s Open in front of large crowd of cheering fans on the challenging layout that got the better of many in the field.
The win is the first major for Stark, who took home the $2.4 million winner’s check, along with a trophy and medal. When asked what she plans to do with the life-changing payout, the 25-year-old Stark, soaked in celebratory champagne, smiled.
“Maybe move out of my studio apartment can be one thing,” she said. “I don’t know. I’m very happy with what I have in my life right now. I think just having the security for the future, I’ll just be very happy about that.”
Stark, who entered the final day of the tournament with the lead and kept it throughout, closed with an even-par 72 for a 7-under-par total of 281, fighting off a challenge from Nelly Korda, the world’s top-ranked golfer, who finished tied for second place with Rio Takeda of Japan.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
“Before this week, I was worried that I wasn’t really going to play decent golf for a while,” Stark said. “So, this just feels huge.”
Large throngs followed Stark, Korda, Takeda and others who were at or near the top of the leader board across the hilly course, with fans lining the ropes along the rolling fairways while packing the stands around the lightning quick greens on Sunday, when competition in the preeminent championship in women’s golf reached its pinnacle.
Taryn Johnson and Ryan Riha were among the thousands of spectators who flocked to Erin Hills for Sunday’s final round action. They took a spur-of-the-moment trip from their home in Chicago to see what was the first professional golf tournament of any kid for either of them.
“I was watching Nelly’s highlights on YouTube the other day, and I realized that this was up in Wisconsin and just a two-and-a-half-hour drive,” Riha said. “I told Taryn we’re getting tickets and we’re going to go on Sunday and see how it all shakes out.”
Among their stops along the course was the tee-off area for the long seventh hole. “It’s a great course that’s really hard, I can tell,” Johnson said. “I love seeing all the people here. It’s awesome.”
Seeing the explosive growth of women’s sports, including golf, in recent years is inspiring, Johnson said. “It’s long overdue,” she said. “I wish when I was young, I could have seen all this. I remember golfing when I was little and it wasn’t like this. Maybe I would have kept up with the sport if I had seen something like this, and not just on the men’s side.”
Johnson and Riha said the they hope the trip to Erin Hills will be the first of many tournaments for them. “This has been great, just to walk around,” Johnson said. “It’s beautiful outside. It’s really awesome.”
The U.S. Women’s Open attracted top players from around the world. In all, competitors from 18 different countries were among the golfers to survive the 36-hole cut. The United States led the way with 12 players, followed by the Republic of Korea (11) and Japan (10). Sweden was next with four.
Six amateurs out of an original field of 26 made it to the weekend. Lottie Woad, the world No. 1 amateur, compiled the lowest four-day total among the amateurs in the field. Amateurs also included 16-year-old Rayee Feng and Kiara Romero, a 19-year-old All American at the University of Oregon, who shot 84 on Saturday and was in the first group out on Sunday. She closed with a 67, the lowest final-round score ever in the U.S. Women’s Open by an amateur.
The immensely popular Korda is a favorite of Calli Dahlgren, a Wauwatosa teenager who attend the U.S. Women’s Open with her father, Todd. “I love Nelly, and Madelene (Sagstrom). Rose Zhang, also, but sadly she didn’t make the cut. And I’m excited to see Lydia Ko (world No. 3), too,” Calli said as play got underway for the day.
Calli and her dad made their way around to several vantage points throughout the morning and into the afternoon, as temperatures began to rise. “I think it’s a beautiful course,” she said as she watched many of the stars of the field tee off on the first hole, including Sagstrom and Ko. “I wish there were a few more trees maybe, but the setup is nice.”
Calli, who will be a senior at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School in Milwaukee this coming school year, first got on a course with her dad when she was a grade-schooler. “As a kid, my dad and my grandpa took me out golfing a lot,” she said. “I wouldn’t say I was the biggest fan of golf at first, but as I got older, I started taking much more of an interest and played on the golf team at my high school for two years.”
She took in her first major championship in 2017 as a youngster when she attended the first U.S. Open to be held in Wisconsin, which also took place at Erin Hills. Brooks Koepka shot a final-round 67 to post a four-stroke victory in that tourney.
Although Calli no longer plays golf competitively, she said she enjoys getting out on the links for fun with friends and family and counts Fairways of Woodside in Sussex and Currie Park Golf Course in Wauwatosa among her favorites. “I really like Fairways of Woodside because I shot a pretty good score on the front nine there and I love Currie because I’ve played it so many times,” Calli said. “It’s like my home course.”
Todd Dahlgren said he wanted to teach his daughter about golf because it’s sport that can lead to a lifetime involvement. “It’s not like a lot of the team sports,” he said. “Maybe you’re fortunate enough to play in college but after that there’s not much else. You can play golf until you’re 75- or even 85-years-old. It’s a great way to get out and enjoy the outdoors and the game lends itself to lessons about perseverance, honesty and integrity.”
Calli said she’s emboldened by the rise of popularity in women’s sports. “I think it’s amazing,” she said. “I’ve been watching women’s soccer, basketball and golf for a few years now and I think it’s great that women’s sports are finally getting the viewership they deserve. They’re great athletes.”
Many of those in the gallery on Sunday were young girls who loudly cheered on their favorite players. A good number of golfers, including fan favorites Korda, Ko and Charley Hull, shared hand slaps with the young fans and signed autographs after their rounds.
A chance to see Korda, the 26-year-old Floridian who has held the No. 1 ranking for the past year and was in contention until late in the round on Sunday, also brought Colleen Finley and Drew Adel of Oconomowoc to see the final round. “I started following her on Instagram a year ago,” Finley said, adding that Adel, who admits to watching a lot of golf, often sends her videos of Korda’s golf swing.
The trip to Erin Hills marked Finley’s first time as a spectator at a golf tournament. “It’s really nice here,” she said. “I didn’t realize it was so hilly but I guess that’s why it’s called Erin Hills. It’s really cool being able to see a live women’s sports events and that Erin Hills is so close.”
Finley said she’s recently taken up golf and has enjoyed the experience thus far. “But I’m still very much a beginner,” she said.
Although no official attendance figures were released, United States Golf Association CEO Mike Whan praised the 2,000 volunteers and 40,000 “cheeseheads” for their support throughout the tournament.
Speaking of cheese, the state’s reputation for dairy products wasn’t lost on some of the golfers in the field. Angel Yin, a Californian who finished tied for ninth while earning more than $281,000, made this post on Instagram following the tournament: “Last night in Wisconsin. Any recs for food and cheese curds spots”
As expected, the challenging Erin Hills layout, along with an assist from Mother Nature, mainly in the form of wind, wreaked a bit of havoc on the golfers’ scores throughout the week.
After yielding six rounds of 68 on Thursday and a 66 and 67 on Friday, only Julia Lopez Ramirez broke 70 on sunny, breezy Saturday, a reminder of the uniquely special tests that Erin Hills presents. On Sunday, just three golfers managed to crack 70 – Romero, Ina Yoon and Hye Jin Choi.
Yin provided one of the best examples of how mischievous Erin Hills can be. She made an eagle on the par-5 14th hole on Saturday but walked away with a triple-bogey 7 on the 260-yard par-4 15th.
“It’s 100% more exhausting like mentally, physically. It’s just such a long walk this week,” 2022 U.S. Women’s Open champion Minjee Lee said. “I don’t know, for fans it’s probably even worse. But it just feels like uphill after another uphill. I just think it’s just grueling. And it should be. It’s a U.S. Open and our top major.”
Gaby Lopez, of Mexico, agreed. “You know, this golf course is going to get you,” she said. “Doesn’t matter where you are on the leaderboard. It’s going to get you.”
Korda shared those sentiments. “A lot of us are perfectionists. So, when I come out here and a golf course dominates you the way it does, it’s never a nice feeling,” Korda said. “But it’s also super motivating. Hopefully I can continue trending in the right direction for a long season ahead.”
The 80th U.S. Women’s Open was the third to be played in Wisconsin, with Se Ri Pak winning in 1998 and Na Yeon Choi winning the 2012 championship, both at Blackwolf Run in Kohler. Now, Stark is added to list winners of the U.S. Women’s Open on Wisconsin soil.
Stark had to endure a long delay on the 18th hole as her playing partner, Ramirez, struggled to complete her round. Worried that nerves would get in the way of her path to a championship, Stark turned to her caddie, Jeff Brighton, to keep the pressure at bay.
“My caddie used to be a stand-up comic, so he had some good jokes,” she said.
Once she made the putt to seal the victory, Stark was sprayed with champagne and was seen holding a Wisconsin-made Spotted Cow as she took it all in.
Stark becomes just the third golfer from Sweden to win the U.S. Women’s Open, joining Annika Sorenstam and Liselotte Neumann.
The U.S. Women’s Open is the fifth USGA championship conducted at Erin Hills, which will host five more events over the next two decades.
The USGA projected the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills to have an economic impact of between $20 million and $30 million for the region, with much of that centered on Erin Hills and the city of Hartford, located just a few miles away.
At the conclusion of the tournament, the USGA presented Zach Reineking, Erin Hills’ co-general manager, with the E.J. Marshall Platter, and award that celebrates quality in golf course management, and acknowledges golf course maintenance leaders who demonstrate dedication, expertise and seamless collaboration with the USGA ahead of a national championship. The recognition also extends to the entire Erin Hills golf course maintenance team for their vital contributions.
Reineking has been involved in five USGA championships over the course of his 19-year tenure at the 620-acre facility.
“He has tremendous agronomic knowledge, strong organizational skills and a willingness to do whatever is necessary for the success of the championship,” USGA Senior Director of Championship Agronomy Darin Bevard said.
