Maja Stark shares if she ever checked the leaderboard with Nelly Korda chasing her down at the U.S. Women’s Open

Maja Stark is the U.S. Women’s Open champion after she held her nerve to see off the likes of Nelly Korda and she’s been explaining just what it felt like to have world number one chasing her.

With Korda the undoubted star of female golf right now and Stark sitting all the way back in 33rd in the world rankings, she was always going to feel some pressure.

However, the Swede held her nerve superbly well to finish at seven under par and in the end, win by two shots in comfortable fashion.

Korda, meanwhile, could only finish at one under for her round and after she made a mess of the par five last to make bogey, the writing was on the wall.

Still, the pressure was there and speaking after the event, Stark has explained just what it was like.

Maja Stark says what it was like trying to beat Nelly Korda at the Women’s US Open

Stark was speaking to the media after her win and was clearly delighted to get over the line and see off the world’s biggest female golf star in Nelly Korda.

Indeed, she was asked specifically about the challenge of having Korda on her coat-tails and admitted that she didn’t even dare look at a leaderboard until Korda was home and finished on 18.

“I just didn’t want to get ahead of myself. I thought there’s still a lot of golf left to be played. I just felt like people are going to pass me probably, and I just had to stay calm through that,” Stark admitted.

“I didn’t look at the leaderboards until I was on like 17. 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.

“Then obviously with the pressure and everything, your mistakes get bigger, but it felt like I could just like control anything that was thrown at me really today.”

Maja Stark’s US Open winning final round in numbers

To win a US Open, both in the male and female side of the game, you need to hit big shots, play well when it matters, and have an element of luck.

The luck side for Stark came in that Korda and others never really caught fire, meaning she had to just stay consistent to get it over the line.

In the end, Stark making three bogeys mattered little as she also made three birdies, including a crucial one to put the pressure on at the 14th.

Stark hit 13 from 18 greens in regulation, needed just 32 putts to get it done, and only missed four fairways from 14 all round.

In the end, that proved enough and while Korda remains the best player in the world, Maja Stark has put her name firmly on the map.