Tag: International Crown

Thailand defeats Team USA at International Crown, set to meet Australia in Sunday’s primetime finale at TPC Harding Park

The U.S. will take on Sweden in the consolation match.

Ariya Jutanugarn buried a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to give Thailand control of the last match on the course at the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown. It proved a dagger to Team USA.

Sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn took down World No. 1 Nelly Korda and Danielle Kang, 1 up, thanks to birdies over the last two holes. It was the second point Thailand needed to advance to Sunday afternoon’s final match against Australia at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. Neither of the finalists have ever won the Crown, now in its fourth edition.

The U.S. will take on Sweden in the consolation match Sunday.

Former No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul defeated Lexi Thompson, 3 and 2, in singles play. Lilia Vu posted the only point for Team USA, defeating fellow UCLA Bruin and Chevron champion Patty Tavatanakit, 1 up. It marked the only match Thailand has lost the entire week.

The format for the semifinals and finals consists of two singles matches and one foursomes match. With no team captains, the players determine the lineups.

Anna Nordqvist, a three-time major champion and Solheim Cup stalwart, played impeccable golf at the Crown on Saturday but then fell to Stephanie Kyriacou, No. 118 in the world, in semifinal singles, 4 and 3. Match play never fails to deliver a few shockers.

“I think I play my best when I’m aggressive,” said Kyriacou, “and in match play you only need to beat one person so there’s not as much pressure. But yeah, I played pretty aggressive all day. All week actually.”

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Veteran Sarah Kemp wasn’t at all surprised to see her Aussie team sweep Sweden.

“Not in a cocky way,” said Kemp, “just because of the way we are around each other and the team that we’ve built from the beginning. We’ve had lunch together, we’ve had breakfast together every day, we’ve had dinner together, we do everything together, and we’ve just come together really well, and it’s paying off as you can see on the course.”

Hannah Green, who won on the LPGA exactly one week ago, defeated Caroline Hedwall, 3 and 2, in singles play. Kemp and Minjee Lee took down Madelene Sagstrom and Maja Stark in foursomes play.

“I think we should be proud of ourselves,” said Nordqvist. “We still have a match for third. Obviously, it was a little bit of a rougher morning than we hoped for, but Australia played great, and there’s not much you can do then.”

Sagstrom, looking ahead to this year’s Solheim Cup in Spain, felt it was a meaningful week for young Stark.

“We all knew her game was good,” said Sagstrom. “This is kind of her first entree to professional team events, so it was nice to have her under my wing and try to help out with whatever experience that I have. She played awesome.”

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Team England takes massive hit after last-minute withdrawals from Georgia Hall, Charley Hull for International Crown

Team England officials have been left scrambling.

LOS ANGELES – Team England suffered a devastating loss at the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown before a shot was struck.

Both Georgia Hall and Charley Hull withdrew Saturday, leaving officials scrambling to replace them. Ladies European Tour players Alice Hewson and Liz Young were en route from England on Sunday to round out the four-player squad.

Hall, ranked No. 10 in the world, is currently one of the hottest players on the LPGA and Hull, ranked 17th, isn’t far behind. Both players competed in this week’s JM Eagle LA Championship, with Hull taking a share of T-17 and Hall finishing T-44.

Former Solheim Cup players Jodi Ewart Shadoff, No. 45, and Bronte Law, 103, make up the rest of the team.

Eight countries have qualified for the event, which will be staged May 4-7 at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park. This marks the first staging of the Crown since South Korea won on home soil in 2018.

Hall told Golfweek that she’s been struggling with her left foot the past several weeks, an injury she sustained from running too much on concrete without warming up properly.

“I have a private physio I see every day,” said Hall. “I’ve been getting treatment on it every day, and he advised I need to rest it before it gets any worse.”

Hall said she plans to compete in the Cognizant Founders Cup in New Jersey the week after the Crown.

Georgia Hall and Charley Hull at the 2018 UL International Crown in Incheon, South Korea. (Photo: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Hull, who was in a hurry to catch a flight after her round, said she hasn’t been feeling well for several weeks and planned to go home to see a doctor. She plans to return to the tour in three to four weeks.

“I wish the others good luck, and sorry I couldn’t be there,” said Hull, who has twice represented England at the Crown. In 2016, Mel Reid famously played one round solo after Hull pulled out sick.

Substitutes Hewson and Young rank 172nd and 216th, respectively. Hewson has five top-20 finishes this season on the LET, including a share of second at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open. Last year, Young won her first LET title in her 14th season on the tour, one month before her 40th birthday.

There are eight teams in this year’s Crown: U.S., South Korea, Japan, Sweden, England, Thailand, Australia and China.

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Eight countries have qualified for the International Crown. But which players will be at TPC Harding Park? (Sadly, no Lydia Ko)

The top four players from each country in the Rolex Rankings as of April 3 will compete May 4-7.

The list of eight countries that will compete in the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown was finalized last November, and now it’s a mad dash til April to determine which players will qualify for the unique team competition.

The top four players from each country in the Rolex Rankings as of April 3 will compete May 4-7 at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park.

The countries that have qualified include the United States (35 points), South Korea (35 points), Japan (85 points), Sweden (120 points), Thailand (183 points), England (197 points), Australia (298 points) and China (446 points).

South Africa (475 points) just missed on qualifying for its first Crown. Countries must have a minimum of four ranked players to be eligible.

The event brings in players from around the world who are not eligible for the Solheim Cup, though top-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Canada’s Brooke Henderson, No. 7, will not be in the field of 32.

The Crown was last held in 2018 in South Korea, where the team of So Yeon Ryu, Sung Hyun Park, In-Kyung Kim and In Gee Chun triumphed on home soil in front of a packed and boisterous crowd.

The field will be finalized on the Monday after the DIO Implant LA Open. Here’s how things currently stand:

International Crown set to return to LPGA schedule in 2023 on the West Coast

The 2020 event was scheduled to be played at the Centurion Club in England but was canceled due to the pandemic.

The International Crown is returning to the LPGA schedule in 2023, Golfweek has learned. Multiple sources have confirmed to Golfweek that the team event is slated for the San Francisco area, potentially at TPC Harding Park, the first week of May, with South Korea’s Hanwha as title sponsor.

The biennial event was created under the leadership of former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan and debuted in 2014 at Caves Valley Golf Club, in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Spain won the first contest, followed by the United States in 2016 at the Merit Club just north of Chicago. South Korea won the last time the event was held in 2018 on home soil at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon.

Eight countries qualify for the event and four players comprise each team. The 2020 event was scheduled to be played at the Centurion Club in England but was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. UL title sponsored the event in 2016 and 2018.

Only six countries have qualified for all three competitions: South Korea, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.

The Crown won’t be the only team event in 2023: The Solheim Cup heads to Spain for the first time September 22-24.

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