The women’s golf team event “Hanwha LifePlus International Crown 2025” has undergone a revamp, introducing Team World to compete alongside 7 national teams in the tournament, which will be held in South Korea from October 23-26. Thailand’s team will aim to defend their title and perform well in the competition.
The “Hanwha LifePlus International Crown” is a women’s team golf event with a total prize pool of 2 million USD, with the winning team receiving 500,000 USD. The tournament will take place at the New Korea Country Club in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, from October 23-26, 2025. This year, the tournament will feature 8 top teams, each with 4 players, for a total of 32 players. However, the format has changed: instead of 8 teams based on world rankings, there will be 7 national teams and 1 Team World, creating a more global format.
The selection of the national teams will be based on the 4 highest-ranked players from each country according to the world rankings. The rankings used will be those at the conclusion of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on June 23. Team World will be made up of the best players from each of the 4 regions: North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa-Oceania. Players already selected for a national team will not be eligible for Team World.
After the qualifying countries are determined, the final 32 players for each team will be selected based on their world rankings following the AIG Women’s Open in Wales on August 4. If any player does not participate, the next highest-ranked player will be called up to join the team.
The competition will be divided into 2 groups of 4 teams each, with round-robin play in the group stages. The first three rounds will feature fourball match play. The two best teams from each group will move on to the semifinals, which will consist of 4 singles matches and 2 foursomes matches. The third-place match will feature 2 singles matches and 1 foursomes match. The final will follow the same format to determine the champion.
The International Crown was first held in 2014 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland, USA, where Spain won the inaugural title, with players including Carlota Ciganda, Belen Mozo, Azahara Munoz, and Beatriz Recari. In 2016, the event was held at Merit Club in Illinois, USA, where the host team, the United States, emerged as champions, including Christie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Gerina (Piller) Mendoza, and Lexi Thompson. In 2018, the competition moved to Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea, where the host team, South Korea, consisting of Inbee Park, In-Kyung Kim, Sung-Hyun Park, and So-Yeon Ryu, claimed the title. There was no competition in 2020 due to COVID-19, but the tournament returned in 2023 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, USA, where Team Thailand, featuring Ariya Jutanugarn, Moriya Jutanugarn, Patty Tavatanakit, and Atthaya Thitikul, won the title for the first time.
For more information, visit the official website at www.lpga.com.
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