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STARK SOARS TO THE TOP AFTER DAY TWO OF LALLA MERYEM CUP

STARK

Maja Stark produced a second round 67 (-6) to hold a two shot lead heading into the weekend at the Lalla Meryem Cup. 

The Swedish star followed up her first round 71 (-2) with a superb showing at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam to sit at the top of the leaderboard on -8 after 36 holes, with India’s Aditi Ashok her nearest challenger on -6. 

Five-time Ladies European Tour (LET) winner Stark did not drop a shot during the second day and rolled in six birdies on the blue course – picking up shots on holes two and seven, as well as 11, 15, 16 and 18 after the turn.

And despite her strong showing, the 2022 Race to Costa Del Sol runner-up believes she could have gone even lower in round two. 

“It was a slow start to the day,” said Stark. “I felt like I could have made a couple more putts in the first nine holes and my irons were a little bit off. I had a bit of a strong grip at first then I overcompensated and had weak grips. 

“I think I found it at the end and made a few longer putts. Overall a very steady and stress free day, now It feels so obvious that I had five or six shots out there that I could have easily avoided.”

Stark is chasing her first win for the year following on from three LET wins and her first win on the LPGA Tour at the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational last year. 

Sitting with a two-shot lead heading into the final day, the 23-year-old is looking forward to the challenge of keeping the lead intact. 

“I’m excited for tomorrow,” Stark continued. “I always like a chase but I feel maybe I will have a different goal tomorrow, maybe I will do a Tiger Woods and copy what he did at Pebble Beach when he said no bogeys.

“It’s the last day, so they are going to have to catch me I guess.”

India’s Ashok sits in second place on six-under-par after carding a second round score of 71 (-2) in Morocco. 

The 24-year-old, who won the first LET event of the season – the Magical Kenya Ladies Open at Vipingo Ridge last week – made four birdies and two bogeys on day two at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam and will look to put the pressure on Stark tomorrow to aim for two wins in a row.

“I am a confidence player,” Aditi said. “When you win a tournament you feel like your game is there and even though I didn’t have any practice rounds, I do feel like my game is pretty good this week and I will just continue to play my game.

“It’s nice to be up there after a couple of days but I think this field is pretty strong so…

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