10/23/25 02:34:00
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10/23 02:30 CDT Americans beat China twice. Thitikul stays perfect at LPGA's
International Crown team event
Americans beat China twice. Thitikul stays perfect at LPGA's International
Crown team event
GOYANG, South Korea (AP) --- The United States beat China twice in fourball
matches Thursday on the first day of the LPGA's International Crown tournament
while world No. 1-ranked Jeeno Thitikul remained perfect at the team event.
Thitikul and partner Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand beat Hannah Green and
Grace Kim of Australia 1-up at the New Korea Country Club. It was Thitikul's
sixth consecutive win at the team competition.
The win came after Australia's Minjee Lee and Steph Kyriacou beat Chanettee
Wannasaen and Jasmine Suwannapura 2-up to split the points with Thailand on the
opening day.
Americans Yealimi Noh and Angel Yin routed Liu Yan and Yin Ruoning of China 5
and 4 and later Lilia Vu and Lauren Coughlin beat Zhang Weiwei and Liu Ruixin
1-up.
The U.S. was the only team to have won both its opening matches.
Japan led the World team early in both fourball matches but Charley Hull and
Lydia Ko birdied the final hole for a tie with Rio Takeda and Miyu Yamashita.
Then Brooke Henderson and Wei-Ling Hsu rallied for a 2 and 1 win over Ayaka
Furue and Mao Saigo to pick up 1.5 points against their opponents.
South Korea earns 1.5 points
The host team got off to a good start when South Korea's Hyo Joo Kim and
Hye-Jin Choi beat Sweden's Maja Stark and Linn Grant 3 and 2. Then Jin Young Ko
and Haeran Ryu finished tied with Ingrid Lindblad and Madelene Sagstrom.
Under the tournament format, seven countries and a "rest of the world" team
compete in two pools --- the U.S., China, Australia and Thailand in Pool A, and
South Korea, the World team, Japan and Sweden in Pool B. The teams and their
players were determined by the women's world ranking.
The addition of a world team allows for players such as Ko of New Zealand and
Henderson of Canada to play in the tournament.
4-ball matches continue over next 2 days
Fourball matches continue on Friday and Saturday. The top two countries from
each pool advance to Sunday's semifinals and finals that consist of one
foursomes (alternate shot) and two singles matches.
Thitikul was a member of the Thai team in 2023 which won the International
Crown at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco and is the only player in the field
who has won the event.
Thitikul is a six-time winner on the LGPA tour, including wins this season at
the Mizuho Americas Open and the Shanghai tournament two weeks ago.
Last week Sei Young Kim won the BMW Ladies Championship, also in South Korea.
The LPGA's Asian swing continues in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next week and
concludes in Shiga, Japan from Nov. 6-9.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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