Team competitions are some of the most exciting events on the golf calendar, not just for fans, but for the players who compete in them, too. This week, the fifth edition of the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown gets underway just outside of Seoul at New Korea Country Club in the Republic of Korea, where the best in the women’s game will represent their countries over four days of competition. Here’s a quick guide to what you need to know about this year’s edition of the International Crown.

International Crown Breakdown

Every two years, the top-ranked countries in women’s golf square off in a team competition known as the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown. In 2025, seven of the top-ranked countries in the world, as determined by the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings of the country’s best four athletes, were eligible to compete in the International Crown. But new this year is the addition of a World Team, which is made up of four players from countries that didn’t have enough athletes eligible to field a full team. The top four ranked players from each eligible region – Africa and Oceania; the Americas; Asia; and Europe, – qualified to compete upon conclusion of the AIG Women’s Open in August.

The Competitors

The participating countries were determined upon the conclusion of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June, but the members of each team were finalized using the Rolex Rankings on Aug. 4. The eight squads were solidified and seeded as follows:

No. 1 United States - Angel Yin, Lauren Coughlin, Lilia Vu, Yealimi Noh (replaced Nelly Korda who withdrew)

No. 2 Japan - Miyu Yamashita, Rio Takeda, Mao Saigo, Ayaka Furue

No. 3 Republic of Korea - Hyo Joo Kim, Haeran Ryu, Jin Young Ko, Hye-Jin Choi

No. 4 Australia - Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Grace Kim, Steph Kyriacou

No. 5 Thailand - Jeeno Thitikul, Chanettee Wannasaen, Pajaree Annanarukarn (replaced Patty Tavatanakit who withdrew), Jasmine Suwannapura (replaced Ariya Jutanugarn who withdrew)

No. 6 Sweden - Maja Stark, Madelene Sagstrom, Ingrid Lindblad, Linn Grant

No. 7 World Team - Brooke Henderson, Charley Hull, Wei-Ling Hsu, Lydia Ko

No. 8 People’s Republic of China - Ruoning Yin, Weiwei Zhang, Yan Liu, Ruixin Liu

The Format

Teams will compete over four days, beginning with four-ball pool play on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Teams will be awarded one point for a win, a half point for a tie and zero points for a loss. The two countries who earned the most points over the course of the first three days of the competition from Pool A and Pool B will advance to Sunday.

Beginning Sunday morning, two semifinal matches, consisting of two singles matches and one foursomes match, will be played between the top point-earner from Pool A and the second-place country from Pool B, as well as the second-place country from Pool A and the top point-earner from Pool B. The first country to win two points will be deemed the winner of their match.

Each of the countries who win their semifinals match in the morning will face each other in the finals on Sunday. The two losing countries from the semifinals matches will square off in a third-place match that will also be held on Sunday afternoon.

Pool A:

No. 1 United States

No. 4 Australia

No. 5 Thailand

No. 8 People’s Republic of China

Pool B:

No. 2 Japan

No. 3 Republic of Korea

No. 6 Sweden

No. 7 World Team

Besides bragging rights, teams are also competing for a $2 million purse with $500,000 going to the winning team, which will be divided evenly with $125,000 going to each member.

Event History

The first edition of the International Crown was held at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland and won by Team Spain in 2014. The event returned two years later and was played at the Merit Club outside Chicago where the United States was victorious on home soil, and in 2018, the competition went international for the first time and was staged in the Republic of Korea where the home team was victorious. The event took a hiatus throughout the pandemic and returned to the LPGA Tour’s schedule in 2023 at TPC Harding Park outside San Francisco and was won by Team Thailand.

How to Watch

New Korea Country Club is 13 hours ahead of the Eastern Time zone, but live coverage of the International Crown will be available each of the four days of competition on Golf Channel. All times are Eastern.

Wednesday, October 22: 10 p.m. - 3 a.m. on Golf Channel

Thursday, October 23: 10 p.m. - 3 a.m. on Golf Channel

Friday, October 24: 10 p.m. - 3 a.m. on Golf Channel

Saturday, October 25: 7:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. on Golf Channel (semifinals)

Sunday, October 26: 12 - 4 a.m. on Golf Channel (finals)

Five Things to Know About the 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown

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