Sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown has been absent from the LPGA Tour schedule since 2018 – until now. The unique match-play event, which pits the top eight countries in the world according to the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings against each other, returns to the Tour this week in spectacular fashion.
A Course Worthy of the Crown
The fourth installment of the international event will be played at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park, located just steps away from the Pacific coast and abutting idyllic Lake Merced. The course was originally designed by Willie Watson and Sam Whiting, who also designed the Lake Course at the neighboring Olympic Club. The municipal course underwent significant renovations at the turn of the century, which took $16 million and a complete redesign of the course, re-opening in 2003. Since then, the course has hosted a myriad of high-profile men’s events, including the 2009 Presidents Cup and the 2020 PGA Championship, becoming a regular stop on the PGA Tour in the early 2000s. But missing from the course’s illustrious history is an elite women’s tournament, which is where the International Crown comes in. This week’s competition will be the first women’s event to ever grace the greens of TPC Harding Park.
The New Format (Simplified)
As if making San Francisco history wasn’t enough excitement, the International Crown will also feature a new format which will make following along with the action much easier. The eight countries will be seeded into two pools – seeds 1, 4, 5, and 8 in Pool A and seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7 in Pool B – for Fourball matches that will take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The top two countries from each pool will move on to the two semifinal matches Sunday morning. The first-place countries from each pool will play the runners-up in the opposing pool in two singles matches and one foursome. All four teams will play on Sunday afternoon, in the same manner, with the semifinal losers playing for third place and the winners competing for the Crown.
The Perpetual Top Two
Since 2016, the United States and the Republic of Korea have been locked in a battle for first place. The U.S. won on American soil in 2016 at the Merit Club in Illinois in a close fought battle with the Korean team and the Koreans edged out the U.S. on Korean soil in 2016 at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon. This year is no different. The U.S. will enter the event with the top seed and Korea follows as a close second. The American team is headlined by newly reanointed world No. 1 Nelly Korda and Chevron Champion Lilia Vu. The two stars are backed up by veteran heavy hitters Lexi Thompson and Danielle Kang. Meanwhile, the Korean team is led by world No. 3 and HSBC Women’s World Champion Jin Young Ko. She is joined by major champions Hyo Joo Kim and In Gee Chun and rising star Hye-Jin Choi. With both countries claiming their own International Crown title, the series is even at 1-1 and this week could be the tiebreaker.
Dark Horses in the Running
But legacy isn’t everything and there’s more than a few countries with a fighting chance at victory. Reigning Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Atthaya Thitikul leads a sixth-seeded Thailand team with sleeper talent, like Thitikul’s predecessor, 2021 rookie of the year Patty Tavatanakit. The major champion has not missed a cut yet this season, her best result coming at the DIO Implant LA Open where she finished T3. And that’s not to mention 12-time LPGA winner Ariya Jutanugarn and her sister Moriya who complete the foursome. China’s team will also be one to watch out for. Seeded eighth, the foursome representing China have nothing to lose and have just hit their stride in 2023. The squad is highlighted by Ruoning Yin, who became just the second Chinese winner on Tour with her victory at the DIO Implant LA Open a few weeks ago. She is followed by Xiyu Lin, who just finished runner up at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. Yu Liu and Ruixin Liu round out the group.
England’s New Team
The fifth seeded English team took a blow this week when world No. 10 Georgia Hall and two-time LPGA winner Charley Hull withdrew from the event due to injury and illness respectively. The two will be replaced by Alice Hewson and Liz Young who both currently play on the LET. Hewson joined the premier European tour in 2020 and won in her very first event, the Investec South African Women's Open. The 25-year-old is currently sixth in the Race to Costa Del Sol, buoyed by a runner-up result in the first event of the season, the Magical Kenya Ladies Open. Unlike young Hewson, Young is a veteran, and this year is her 15th season on the LET. Young found her first professional win last year at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open.
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