THE MODERATOR: Maja Stark joins us now at the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Welcome to Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco. A major victory for you just a few weeks ago in Wisconsin. How you feeling coming into this one?
MAJA STARK: A little bit overwhelmed. I feel like there is just more to do now.
But I'm excited. I'm very happy that I got that experience, and hopefully I can bring it into the next majors.
Q. First impressions of the golf course and the conditions this week?
MAJA STARK: I only played the front nine. It's fun. I like the course. It's obviously very different. It's a little bit softer on the greens, right now at least, a little bit slower than what we played on at U.S. Open.
But I like it a lot and I think that you will have to really hit good shots or you're going to have some really long approach shots, so that's always fun.
Q. What was the one moment after winning the Open? Was there something that happened the next day, couple days later that you said oh, my goodness, yes, I just did this? Meeting someone, hearing from someone?
MAJA STARK: Not really. I haven't really thought about it. I don't think I really had too much time to digest it because I had the tournament the next week, and then last week I had off.
No, I haven't really had time to think about it. I didn't cry after I won but I cried after JJ Spaun won because I was so excited for him.
No, just really hasn't landed yet.
Q. How would you say your life has changed, whether in small or big ways, so far?
MAJA STARK: Hasn't changed that much. I feel like maybe a bit less stress about keeping the Tour card and that stuff.
But, no, I feel like everyone has been asking me if I've treated myself to anything or bought something. I was like no, I was pretty happy with what I had before and I'm still happy with it, yeah.
Q. Why was JJ winning so emotional for you? Everybody has a different experience from having watched it.
MAJA STARK: Just like when you see the reaction and how happy he was, hearing he almost quit last year and just like him crying, finishing with two birdies and finishing in this fashion, that was just crazy.
Seeing his kids, you know, hug him. That just makes me emotional for anyone. I'm just like a little cry baby. But, yeah.
Q. We talked a lot about courses that might be birdiefests or harder U.S. Open tests, which you seem to love and loved a few weeks ago. What are your early thoughts on this course and how difficult do you think it might play for the field?
MAJA STARK: I've only played the first nine, but I do think it's going to be pretty hard. Maybe a few more birdies than U.S. Open, but it looks like it's going to be windy this week. We're in Texas, so I think that's going to be a big challenge.
There are still some big run-offs where you don't really want to be. I think that you can really -- if you play smart, you can make a lot of the birdies, or at least avoid the bogeys.
If you have an off day you can have a pretty high score here.
Q. We talked about you and your caddie, Jeff, working things out. What are his early thoughts? I know he has a big golf brain. What's the strategy for this week?
MAJA STARK: He's noticed that he can't give me too much information because I want to keep things simple. He's like a kid who has done their homework and now they're showing their teacher, like I did so much, I did this and I've done that.
I go, that's nice, Jeff, but I can't think about this run-off and for this flag maybe on Saturday. But I think he's really excited. I think he likes courses where you have to think a lot, like on this one.
So, yeah, it was really funny yesterday with. Felt like he was holding back on all the info he had.
Q. Keep it simple, right?
MAJA STARK: Yes, exactly.
Q. You mentioned Texas is windy. How much experience do you have playing in Texas? Is that a statement of local knowledge or reputation?
MAJA STARK: I went to school in Oklahoma so I feel like same thing.
Q. Right. But ya'll played a lot of tournaments down here. Noticeably different?
MAJA STARK: Yeah, quite a few. I haven't played much, you know, different courses around here, but I just have looked at the forecast and it was really windy today, and then I think that maybe -- I think if we get some more -- if we get a lot of wind it's going to be a real test out here.
Q. Yeah, because probably similar to Oklahoma, a lot of the courses here are built with the wind in mind.
MAJA STARK: Yeah.
Q. Now having won the U.S. Open, how much does that change your perspective and feeling going into this major? Do you feel like there is less pressure?
MAJA STARK: I don't really feel that much pressure going into majors in normal cases, but I think my perspective is kind of changed in that U.S. Open was something that I always wanted to win. That was like -- obviously every major is fun, but U.S. Open was No. 1 of the priorities or whatever.
But I am feeling it more and more coming into this week that I'm getting more and more excited about this major and the opportunity to win here.
So I think that before this I was just kind of tired and I was like oh, do I want to go travel and compete? It takes a lot of energy, especially major weeks. It's a hard course. We always play hard courses on majors.
So I think I'm starting to feel more and more excited about this and how I just really want to get out there and compete.
Q. There is something marvelous about your short of professional career. It feels like it was two years ago you were playing ANWA and contending in ANWA, and now you're a major winner. You look at Ludvig Aberg, kind of the same thing. I wonder if you were always ready for this and how the process, how fast things are happening?
MAJA STARK: I don't really think about the timeline. I don't think about the stuff I won. I said before that if someone asked me who won the U.S. Women's Open this year, it would take me a minute to remember who it was because I winning is and then I move on.
And I feel like it's always kind of been like that, that you're happy in the moment and then you're like, okay, what's the next thing to do?
So I haven't really reflected on that that much to be honest. I don't know what Ludvig does, but, yeah, it feels kind of crazy that both me, Linn, and Ludvig were in the same school, same year, and now our trajectories have looked kind of the same really fast.
It's always different because it feels like people around me are doing the same thing. It doesn't feel that weird.
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