SEOUL, Republic of Korea — The two seed Japan Team faced off with the seven seed World Team on day one of the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown. Japanese rookies Miyu Yamashita and Rio Takeda stared down LPGA Tour veterans Charley Hull and Lydia Ko in the first round of four-ball matches at New Korea Country Club, while Japanese major champions Ayaka Furue and Mao Saigo went head-to-head with Chinese Taipei’s Wei-Ling Hsu and Canada’s Brooke Henderson in the second match of the day.

Take a look at how things shook out in each of those two Pool B matches on Thursday in the Republic of Korea.

Miyu Yamashita/Rio Takeda vs. Charley Hull/Lydia Ko

Score: Tied

It was a veteran versus rookie showdown in the first match on Thursday at the 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown. Japanese rookies Miyu Yamashita and Rio Takeda teamed up on the opening day of four-ball play at New Korea Country Club and faced off with three-time LPGA Tour winner Charley Hull and LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko to kick off the week in the Republic of Korea.

Japan landed the first blow, taking a 1-up lead with a birdie on the par-4 first hole, but the World Team squared things back up by winning the third hole. Japan reclaimed their 1-up lead with a birdie on the par-5 fourth hole and then extended that advantage to 2 up after taking the par-3 sixth hole.

Hull and Ko got back to 1 down when Hull won the 12th hole with a birdie, and the pair remained 1 down until the par-4 18th hole, ultimately tying the match when Ko buried a 25-foot birdie putt on the last. It was the second consecutive hole that Ko had found some magic with her flat stick, as the New Zealander had also drained a putt on No. 17 to keep the match going after the Japan Team stuck their second shots close.

“The only way I thought we were going to extend the match was for me to hole the putt on 17,” Ko said. “At both our lengths, it's not a guaranteed birdie putt at all, but I felt like I shouldn't let the team down. Charley holed so many good birdie putts that kept the match going, and I just came for the ride for the last two.”

But Hull didn’t doubt her partner’s capabilities in the slightest after seeing how she played in practice, particularly when the team needed Ko to show up the most. “It was pretty chilled out there. It was good. It was nice,” Hull said. “I kind of knew Lydia was going to make the putt on the last because she had an up-and-down challenge on the last hole yesterday, an impossible up-and-down, and you got up-and-down and won 200 bucks from your caddie, so that was an easy putt compared to yesterday.”

Both the Japan and World Teams earn a half-point because of the tie. After the opening session, the World Team is tied atop Pool B alongside the Republic of Korea, while Japan trails the leaders by one full point.

Ayaka Furue/Mao Saigo vs. Wei-Ling Hsu/Brooke Henderson

Score: World Team wins 2 and 1

Wei-Ling Hsu and Brooke Henderson dug deep on Thursday at the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, bouncing back from a 3-down deficit to win their match over Japanese major champions Ayaka Furue and Mao Saigo, putting the first full point on the board for the World Team at New Korea Country Club.

After the two teams tied the first three holes, Japan took a 1-up lead by winning the par-5 fourth hole with a birdie. Furue and Saigo made birdie on No. 7 to move two ahead of the World Team and then got to 3 up on Hsu and Henderson after making birdie on the par-5 eighth hole. Henderson birdied nine to get her and Hsu back to 2 down and birdied again on the par-4 10th hole to move the pair to 1 down.

The World Team tied the match when they won the 11th hole, ultimately flipping the match by making birdie on the par-5 14th hole to go 1 up on Furue and Saigo. Hsu and Henderson then birdied the par-3 16th hole to move two ahead with three to play, closing out Japan on 17 and winning the match, 2 and 1.

“I think at the beginning, we were probably not really used to it,” Hsu said when asked how the pair were able to overcome the early deficit. “With the first couple of holes, we were kind of rusty, but when we made the turn, I think we kept our thinking positive the whole way, so when we were making the turn, we were just like, ‘Hey, I think the putts should go in,’ and then they started dropping.”

The Canadian agreed heartily with that assessment. “Wei-Ling made a nice birdie on one, but then we kind of stalled out, and we weren't really making any birdies,” Henderson said. “I feel like for us, it was just try to hit really good shots to give ourselves birdie looks and then we were able to make 9, 10, 11 and then nice ones on 16 and 17 as well. So just kind of got us going.”

The World Team tallied 1.5 points on the first day of four-ball and currently lead Pool B alongside the Republic of Korea Team.

Japan Team vs. World Team Day One Results: 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown

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