United States, Republic of Korea, Japan, Sweden, Thailand, England, Australia and the People’s Republic of China qualify for the biennial team competition
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 21, 2022 – Eight countries have booked their spots at the 2023 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, the exciting team match-play competition, an event that showcases the best female golfers from across the globe. The event, returning to the LPGA Tour calendar for the first time since 2018, will be held at San Francisco’s famed TPC Harding Park on May 4-7, 2023.
The countries that will compete at TPC Harding Park are the United States (35 points), the Republic of Korea (35 points), Japan (85 points), Sweden (120 points), Thailand (183 points), England (197 points), Australia (298 points) and the People’s Republic of China (446 points). South Africa (475 points) just missed on qualifying for its first Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown.
The final team rankings were determined by the combined Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings of the top four players from each country as of Nov. 21, 2022, immediately following the CME Group Tour Championship. The final field of 32 players and the final country seeding will be confirmed via the Rolex Rankings as of April 3, 2023, the Monday after the DIO Implant LA Open. Countries must have a minimum of four ranked players to be eligible.
LPGA Tour players are excited for the return of the team competition, which was last played in the Republic of Korea in 2018. “I’m super excited for the return of the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown. Hopefully, I can represent Team USA,” said leading American Nelly Korda. Korean star Hyo Joo Kim agreed, saying, “I’m happy to hear that International Crown is coming back for the first time in a while. I hope to post a good record and participate in the next event.”
The Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown will take place over four days, but will have a new format for Sunday’s final day. Thursday, Friday and Saturday will feature four-ball competition. The top two countries from each pool will advance to Sunday. Two semifinal matches will be played Sunday morning, with each match consisting of two singles matches and one foursomes match. The winning semifinal countries will compete in the final match on Sunday afternoon, along with a third-place match between the two losing semifinal countries. The final and third-place match will be played in the same format as the semifinals.
In 2018, the team from the Republic of Korea (In Gee Chun, In-Kyung Kim, Sung Hyun Park, So Yeon Ryu) won the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown on home soil at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, with the USA and England tied for second. The 2016 edition was also won by the host nation, with the U.S. Team (Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Gerina Mendoza, Lexi Thompson) emerging victorious at Merit Club in Illinois. The inaugural competition in 2014, held at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland, was won by the team from Spain (Carlota Ciganda, Azahara Munoz, Belen Mozo, Beatriz Recari). The 2020 competition was scheduled to be played in England, but was postponed due to the pandemic.
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