[PHOTO: Orlando Ramirez]
The Hanwha LIfePlus International Crown will have a new twist this year. The event will incorporate a World Team that will include golfers who otherwise would not have qualified via their country’s selection.
The biennial tournament is staged by the LPGA Tour, and in 2025 will feature eight teams of four players each. The World Team will include the top-ranked player from a country in the four regions that has not already qualified: Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Those who would currently make the squad are world No.3 Lydia Ko of New Zealand, No.9 Celine Boutier of France, No.25 Brooke Henderson of Canada and No.88 Peiyun Chien of Chinese Taipei.
The four matchplay competition days are October 23-26 at New Korea Country Club in South Korea. The event has a $US2 million prize pool with $US500,000 for the victorious team. The first three days are made up of four-ball matchplay, with the final round combining singles and foursomes matchplay.
To qualify for the event, the top seven countries with at least four qualifying players are determined by the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking. The selections will be finalised after the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June. The final 32 players will be determined by the world ranking after the AIG Women’s Open in August.
The International Crown started in 2014 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Baltimore and was won by the Spanish team (Carlota Ciganda, Belen Mozo, Azahara Munoz and Beatriz Recari). The USA won in 2016 with Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Gerina Mendoza (nee Piller) and Lexi Thompson in 2016. The 2020 event was cancelled because of COVID-19, and in the last competition held in 2023 at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park, Thailand’s team of Ariya Jutanugarn, Moriya Jutanugarn, Patty Tavatanakit and Jeeno Thitikul were the winners.
