FREED GROUP WOMEN'S SCOTTISH OPEN

August 4, 2023

Maja Stark

Dundonald Links

Quick Quotes

Q. Some fantastic golf from you out there today. Obviously a slightly frustrating finish, but nevertheless some great golf. Tell me about it.

MAJA STARK: It was very solid today. I had a really frustrating headache on the first six holes. So I didn't really care about my game, to be honest. Maybe it was a good thing that I didn't really pay attention.

But then we got that figured out and, yeah, started making some putts. Bogey on 10 really made me start, like, sharpening up. And then just felt like everything went smooth. I had a lot of confidence today.

Q. After hole 12, you really caught fire. You were attacking the pins. As you say, your putts were so impressive. You've been working on your putting, haven't you?

MAJA STARK: Yeah, from the beginning of this year I started putting six hours a week when I was out of tournaments, and that became a little bit too much, but I try to balance it. So I practice every day, and I have a lot of good focus putting and a lot of, you know -- a lot of drills trying to match read with speed and everything.

So it just makes it easier to especially visualize out there because they have so many little subtle slopes here.

Q. Obviously we know you play well in the wind. You played well at Pebble Beach, and obviously the wind is always a factor here in Scotland. So it's no real surprise to see you doing well, I guess, here.

MAJA STARK: I think I've noticed that I play better when I feel like I have lots of open spaces around me because I don't feel so -- it doesn't feel like I focus on the wrong things. Like, for example, Evian, I could only look at the trees that I could hit into, and then I do.

So, yeah, it's nicer to be here, and I love links golf. So I think that's also a factor.

Q. You said you struggled a little bit on the first six, seven holes out there, then you changed something. What was that that you changed? What was the difference in your game after that?

MAJA STARK: I got two painkillers to get the headache away, honestly. So that was pretty much it. Could finally feel like I focused. And every time I went down to read a putt, my forehead was just -- it felt like it was bursting. So I didn't really care then, and then I started caring. So yeah.

Q. A nice little round out there today, highlighted by those five consecutive birdies in a row. Do you remember the last time you had five straight?

MAJA STARK: Nope. I don't think it's ever happened.

Q. Just overall, I know you've come into the week with a little bit of confidence. What does a round like this do for your confidence and being in Scotland around these kind of difficult conditions?

MAJA STARK: It does a lot. Especially now when the turf is so -- it's so hard out there and you really have to strike the ball and dig around well to actually hit good shots.

And, yeah, I mean, the conditions weren't too bad today. They were worse yesterday, and looks like they're going to be worse tomorrow and Sunday. So, yeah, just kind of have to keep my confidence and fake it if I have to.

Q. I know you said that you had a headache on the front nine the first six holes. When did you finally feel kind of the round click into gear?

MAJA STARK: So it was probably on 8 when I -- well, I didn't aim for the pin, because that's kind of silly to aim for that pin, but then I pulled it, and it was perfect. And then my headache went away, and I felt like on 9 that I really -- now I can play without any obstacles and no excuses.

So, yeah, 9.

Q. Which birdie kind of did you feel the momentum kick up in that five-birdie stretch?

MAJA STARK: It was probably on 15 because then it felt like it wasn't just coincidence. It felt like I was -- I did feel nervous on it, but I hit it anyway, and it went in, and I could keep my cool, and it was a good-struck putt. So I think that was it. Yeah.

Q. Just one of these out-in-the-blue things, irritations of life that came on?

MAJA STARK: I guess. Yeah, I used to have migraines when I was younger, so maybe -- I have no idea.

Q. It's bad enough while we're trying to play championship golf.

MAJA STARK: Exactly, yeah. So every time I would sit down to read a putt, it felt like all the blood was just rushing to my head, and it was just unbearable. It was almost migraine-y where things start spinning.

Q. When you were back in the amateur, you played across here, your amateur days. Can you recall some of those?

MAJA STARK: Yeah, I played here at Dundonald 2016, my first British Am.

Q. How did it go?

MAJA STARK: I went on to the match play. That's something. And then I think -- gosh. I think I lost in the first or second match. But Julia Engstrom, she won the British Am when she was 15.

Q. Absolutely. Is there something in the Swedish water? It's been like that for a long time in woman's golf, hasn't it?

MAJA STARK: Yeah.

Q. The next one in the line or one of many?

MAJA STARK: Hopefully.