Heartbreaks feel heavier, especially when they are on home soil. It was the third and final day before moving into the semifinals of the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown. But one of South Korea’s most decorated LPGA stars, Jin Young Ko, could only watch as Japan sealed their semi-final spot on the 18th green. The win stung especially more as it came in front of her own South Korean fans.

When asked about the defeat, Ko said, “I hope we have one more challenge to play, just one hole. Overall, we had a really, really good week in Korea in front of lots of fans and lots of supporting from the family too. We feel very lucky. At the same time, very sad.” She was confident that if there had been just one more hole to play, the results would have been in their favor. Call it luck or the brilliance of the Japanese team, Jin Young Ko knows that she and her team need to move forward, especially after such a narrow loss.

Ko represented her country as part of the Republic of South Korea team at the biennial event. Moving into day 3, the team needed 1.5 points to secure their semifinal spot. They were up against Team Japan, which included three rookies. Only Ayaka Furue from Japan had played in the event before. The rest of the team, Miyu Yamashita, Mao Saigo, and Rio Takeda, were making their debut at the International Crown. On the other hand, the South Korean team had three veterans, Hyo Joo Kim, Jin Young Ko, and Hye-Jin Choi. Both matches were competitive until the very end.

Reflecting on the same, Ko said, “Well, I played with Haeran, and she played really good today. Yeah, definitely, I was thinking that Hyo Joo and Hye-Jin played good too. I want to give them 100,000 things to do, good things. We don’t have any disappointment from this week. We played a really, really good, solid game. Japan, a little bit luckier than us.”

Despite being a rookie team, Japan played well to keep the 15x LPGA winner and company from getting the 1.5 points they needed. Jin Young Ko played with Haeran Ryu against Ayaka Furue and Rio Takeda. The match was back and forth for the entire day. After winning two holes each in the first 6, Team Japan took an early lead by winning the 7th and 8th holes. However, Ryu’s impressive performance came into play as the South Korean team rallied back by winning holes 12 and 13 to end in a tie.

Hyo Joo Kim and Hye-Jin Choi also played well against Mao Saigo and Miyu Yamashita. Korea took an early 3-up lead, but Japan pushed back. Saigo birdied holes 9 and 10 to minimize the lead. Her 16th hole birdie tied the match, as the decisive point went to the final hole. Kim missed a putt on the 18th green. Meanwhile, Yamashita scored a birdie to win the match and secure a spot in the semifinals.

With the Republic of South Korea losing the match, Japan will move ahead at the International Crown to compete with other semifinalists.

Semifinal teams at the International Crown

The International Crown’s format divides the 8 participant teams into two pools. The top two teams in each pool move to the semifinals. By defeating the Republic of South Korea, Japan finished second in Pool B and advanced to the semifinals. The other team moving into the semifinals from Pool B is the World Team.

It is the first time the International Crown has a World Team where participants are from different countries. Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Charley Hull (England), Brooke Henderson (Canada), and Wei-Ling Hsu (Taiwan) form the World Team.

From Pool A, the two teams going into the semifinals are Team USA and Team Australia. Team USA comprises Angel Yin, Lauren Coughlin, Lilia Vu, and Yealimi Noh. Former World No. 1, Nelly Korda, was supposed to be part of the team. However, she had to withdraw because of injury, giving Yealimi Noh an opportunity to represent her country. Team Korea includes 11x LPGA winner Minjee Lee, along with Hannah Green, Grace Kim, and Stephanie Kyriacou.

Team USA will face Team Japan, and the World Team will face Team Australia on Sunday to determine the two finalists. The schedule includes 1 foursome and 2 singles matches. The format for the finals will also be the same to determine the winner of the 2025 International Crown.