For the first time since 2018, the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown is back on the LPGA schedule.
One of the unique events on the golf calendar, the event pits the top eight countries (based on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings) against one another in match play May 4-7. This week’s tournament will be at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. It’s the fourth installment of the event.
The United States and Korea have dominated the event, but other countries are doing their best to try to take down those two, including Team England.
However, England will attempt to do so without two of its top players, Georgia Hall and Charley Hull. The duo withdrew Saturday, leaving officials scrambling to replace them. Hall told Golfweek she has struggled with her left foot for several weeks. Hull said she hasn’t felt well recently and planned to go home to see a doctor.
However, their Team England teammates don’t sound too happy with their decision. Bronte Law and Jodi Ewart Shadoff said they didn’t find out about Hall and Hull’s decision until Sunday, Law joking she found out through “Chinese whispers,” which is a game in the United Kingdom similar to the American game of telephone in which information is repeated.
“I think anyone with some level of decency would send their teammates a message that they weren’t coming, not find out from other players on tour who have heard things from them saying things at the tournament last week,” Law said during a pre-tournament press conference at TPC Harding Park. “I don’t think that that’s a lot to ask for.”
Ladies European Tour players Alice Hewson and Liz Young flew in Sunday from England to round out the four-player English squad.
“Very happy to have both Alice and Liz are here,” Law said. “They’re both very patriotic, very team-oriented, and I think that that’s a testament to kind of what this tournament is about and is more important than the individuals in the team.
“I know that they’ll fight with everything that they’ve got.”
Law said she didn’t get any messages from Hall or Hull until Tuesday, when Hull reached out to apologize for not being able to play.
“But it’s besides the point now,” she said. “We’re here, and this is our team This is Team England.”
The competition gets underway Thursday. There are eight teams in this year’s Crown: U.S., South Korea, Japan, Sweden, England, Thailand, Australia and China.
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