Minjee Lee and Hannah Green recorded 2 wins and 1 in each of their singles matches in the final on Sunday, helping Australia defeat the United States and win the LPGA International Crown tournament in Goyang-si, South Korea.
Lee and Green dispatched Angel Yin and Yealimi Noh, respectively, after Australians Stephanie Kyriacou and Grace Kim and Americans Lilia Vu and Lauren Coughlin finished in a tie at the biennial event at New Korea Country Club.
“It was a very close match from the start. We kind of went back and forth with birdies. I don’t think we won a hole with a par. We both won with birdies,” said Lee, who won holes Nos. 16 and 17 to close out his match.
“I think I made a good putt for birdie, and then on the next hole Angel made a bogey, and I just had to make a par to go up 2 for 17. I think we both played really solid. It was just nice to be able to win that first match.”
Australia used a victory on the 20th hole to topple the world team earlier on Sunday and punch their ticket to the final. From there, the Australians avenged their second-place finish in 2023, losing to Thailand in the final at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
The Americans advanced to the final after Yin scored a 2 and 1 victory over Japan’s Rio Takeda and Noh scored a 4 and 2 victory over Miyu Yamashita.
“We played very well. We knew how much it meant,” Yin said of the semifinal. “Obviously, going first, at 7 a.m., the sun wasn’t even up when we were already playing golf. So I don’t know, (it was) just good golf all around. Make a bogey, lose a hole. If you make a par, you might lose a hole too. It was a very close competition. Everyone was making putts and playing good golf.”
Noh took a different approach as the Americans attempted to secure their first victory in an international crown tournament since 2016.
“Just have fun with it,” she said. “We’re in the final. Just play good golf.”
Charley Hull and Lydia Ko each recorded a win in their singles matches against Japan, helping the world team finish in third place. Hull took a 4 and 3 victory over Ayaka Furue and Ko notched a 3 and 2 victory over Takeda.
–Field level media
