SEOUL, Republic of Korea — The No. 1 seed United States Team took on the No. 8 seed People’s Republic of China Team on day one of four-ball play at New Korea Country Club. Yealimi Noh and Angel Yin, who are both winners this season on the LPGA Tour, faced People’s Republic of China Team members Yan Liu and Ruoning Yin in the first four-ball session of the 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown.

Former Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Lilia Vu and two-time LPGA Tour winner Lauren Coughlin went up against Weiwei Zhang and Ruixin Liu, the former of which is making her International Crown debut and the latter of whom is playing in her second consecutive edition of the biennial team competition.

Check out how things played out on day one in the Republic of Korea.

Yealimi Noh/Angel Yin vs. Yan Liu/Ruoning Yin

Score: United States wins 5 and 4

Americans Yealimi Noh and Angel Yin won their opening match at the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown by a 5-and-4 margin over Yan Liu and Ruoning Yin, the largest margin of victory of any match in the first four-ball session at New Korea Country Club.

The U.S. Team tied the first two holes with the China Tean before winning the third hole with a par to take a 1-up lead. They extended that advantage to two when Noh birdied the par-3 sixth hole and then moved to 3 up after Angel Yin made birdie on the par-5 eighth hole. Another Angel Yin birdie on the par-4 ninth hole put the Americans 4 up over China with nine holes to play.

After tying the 10th, 11th and 12th holes, Angel Yin chipped in for birdie on the par-3 13th hole to go 5 up on Liu and Ruoning Yin, and when China was unable to match the United States with birdie on 14, the Americans closed out the match, 5 and 4, to put the first point of the day on the board for the Stars and Stripes.

In total, Noh and Angel Yin birdied eight of the 14 holes they played on Thursday in Korea, five of which came in a five-hole stretch from Nos. 5 to 9. And while the dynamic duo were thrilled to have played as well as they did today, Noh and Angel Yin were just as excited that their teammates Lilia Vu and Lauren Coughlin were also able to win their match, one that came down to the final hole.

“We ham and egged really well today,” Angel Yin said. “And also, because we were watching (Lilia and Lauren) coming in, it was so awesome to see everybody play such good golf.”

Noh agreed with that assessment of the pair’s performance on day one. “I think when I didn't make a birdie Angel would make it, and then vice versa,” said the 2025 Founders Cp presented by U.S. Virgin Islands winner. “She played great, and we were having a good time.”

This is the first time that Noh and Angel Yin have each played in a Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, but both have experience in this type of biennial team competition, having played on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team.

Noh made her only appearance in 2021 when the Solheim Cup was contested at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Yin played for the Americans in 2017, 2019 and 2023, earning 5.5 total points for the Red, White and Blue.

While the International Crown is a much different experience for the 32 competitors, the entirety of the U.S. Team says that their collective familiarity with team-based match-play formats is very much an advantage in a week like this one in the Republic of Korea.

“I think it's crucial because out there I'm very unpredictable. Sometimes when you have a bad shot, you can't get down. I think we stay in good spirits, and I think that's the key,” Yin said. “It's great because we can always lean on each other. That's why we have teammates, and I think we built that trust over the short amount of time. But we've done it, and I think it's showing.”

Lilia Vu/Lauren Coughlin vs. Weiwei Zhang/Ruixin Liu

Score: United States wins 1 up

The last match of the first four-ball session came down to the final hole, but Americans Lilia Vu and Lauren Coughlin took down China Team members Weiwei Zhang and Ruixin Liu, 1 up, on day one of the 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown.

The U.S. Team took an early 2-up lead after winning the par-4 first and par-3 second holes at New Korea Country Club. The Chinese duo got a shot back, however, with a birdie on the par-5 fourth hole to get back to 1 down. That was how the match remained until Zhang made a birdie on the par-5 eighth hole to tie the match with 11 holes to play.

The Americans answered the bell immediately with a birdie on nine to get back to 1 up, holding onto that advantage until China once again leveled the score when Liu birdied the par-4 15th hole. Vu birdied 16 to return a 1-up lead to the Americans, one Vu and Coughlin held onto coming down the stretch at New Korea Country Club.

They tied the 18th hole with Zhang and Liu to finish 1 up and tally the second full point of the session for the Americans, putting the Red, White and Blue one point ahead of Australia and Thailand in Pool A.

“I think we were also doing ham and egg, alternating bad shots. It worked out. We were able to convert some birdie putts that we had, and we just stuck to it and trusted each other,” Vu said with a laugh. “I noticed Angel (Yin) on our 15th hole, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, they're done already. This is great.’”

It’s the first time in Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown history that the Americans have opened the event undefeated, momentum the U.S. Team will hope to keep rolling on day two in the Republic of Korea.

United States Team vs. People’s Republic of China Team Day One Results: 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown

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