Cheered on by a raucous home crowd at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea, the star-laden team representing the Republic of Korea captured the 2018 UL International Crown.
The winning putt came courtesy of In-Kyung Kim, who defeated England’s Bronte Law, 2 up, in the penultimate singles match.
The Koreans were the hometown favorites, but they were also the heavy betting favorites, as the team included four top-ranked players, who’d all won major championship titles in recent years: Kim (2017 Women’s British), Sung Hyun Park (2017 U.S. Women’s, 2018 KPMG), So Yeon Ryu (2011 U.S. Women’s, 2017 ANA), and In Gee Chun (2015 U.S. Women’s, 2016 Evian).
“I think initially we felt a lot of pressure preparing for the UL International Crown in the past because it was kind of a given that team Korea would win,” said Ryu, when asked about the pressure of being the favorites.
“As golfers, we of course know that nothing in golf is ever a given, but since we usually have a number of high-ranking players or No. 1 players in our team, it was always assumed that we would win, and I think that in the past we always had pressure from that.
“I think as individual players, we have a lot of strong players, but we don’t have that much experience forming teams and also representing our country, and even in our junior years, we don’t get a lot of exposure to this type of event, so I think there was a lot of pressure.”
2018 UL INTERNATIONAL CROWN
FINAL STANDINGS
1. South Korea – 15 pts
2. USA – 11 pts
2. England – 11 pts
4. Thailand – 10 pts
5. Sweden – 9 pts
SINGLES RESULTS
Caroline Hedwall (SWE) HALVED
Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong (THA)
Charley Hull (ENG) BEAT
Pornanong Phatlum (THA), 1 up
Pernilla Lindberg (SWE) BEAT
Jodi Ewart Shadoff (ENG), 1 up
Moriya Jutanugarn (THA) BEAT
Michelle Wie (USA), 2 and 1
Ariya Jutanugarn (THA) BEAT
Sung Hyun Park (KOR), 2 and 1
Jessica Korda (USA) BEAT
Madelene Sagstrom (SWE), 4 and 3
In Gee Chun (KOR) BEAT
Anna Nordqvist (SWE), 1 up
Georgia Hall (ENG) BEAT
Cristie Kerr (USA), 2 and 1
In-Kyung Kim (KOR) BEAT
Bronte Law (ENG), 2 up
So Yeon Ryu HALVED
Lexi Thompson (USA)
THIRD-ROUND RESULTS
Thailand (THA) vs. Sweden (SWE)
Moriya Jutanugarn/Ariya Jutanugarn (THA) BEAT
Anna Nordqvist/Caroline Hedwall (SWE), 2 and 1
Pernilla Lindberg/Madelene Sagstrom (SWE) BEAT
Pornanong Phatlum/Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong (THA), 2 and 1
Points – Thailand, 2; Sweden, 2
United States (USA) vs. Japan (JPN)
Nasa Hataoka/Ayako Uehara (JPN) BEAT
Jessica Korda/Michelle Wie (USA), 2 and 1
Cristie Kerr/Lexi Thompson (USA) BEAT
Misuzu Narita/Mamiko Higa (JPN), 4 and 3
Points – United States, 2; Japan, 2
Australia (AUS) vs. Chinese Taipei (TPE)
Minjee Lee/Sarah Jane Smith (AUS) BEAT
Candie Kung/Teresa Lu (TPE), 2 up
Su Oh/Katherine Kirk (AUS) BEAT
Wei-Ling Hsu/Phoebe Yao (TPE), 5 and 4
Points – Australia, 4; Chinese Taipei, 0
England (ENG) vs. Republic of Korea (KOR)
Sung Hyun Park/In-Kyung Kim (KOR) BEAT
Charley Hull/Georgia Hall (ENG), 4 and 2
In Gee Chun/So Yeon Ryu BEAT
Bronte Law/Jodi Ewart Shadoff (ENG), 4 and 3
Points – England, 0; Republic of Korea, 4
RE-SEEDING FOR SINGLES
No. 1 Republic of Korea
No. 2 United States
No. 3 England
No. 4 Sweden
No. 5 Thailand
QUOTABLE
“I think that today as a Korean, I’m really proud to have earned the crown and to earn that official title when the game was hosted in Korea.”
– So Yeon Ryu
Report developed using content from LPGA press release.
