Team golf is always special. Watching the regular players who usually fight for individual titles, shedding off ranks to come and play for national pride. We see it every time the Ryder Cup or Solheim Cup rolls around. But while these two events, which arguably are the biggest stages for men and women golf, respectively, pit only Europe against the United States, the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown takes the matter truly global. It’s the golf version of a World Cup, eight teams from around the globe, four players each, and one glittering trophy on the line.

And this year, things are getting even more interesting. The 2025 International Crown will be held from October 23 to 26 at the New Korea Country Club in Goyang, South Korea. It will be the fifth edition of this biennial event, and for the first time, a World Team will join the lineup.

Eight teams, endless talent: Who’s chasing the crown?

If you have never followed the International Crown before, think of it as a cross between the Ryder Cup and the Olympics, but with a distinct LPGA twist. Eight teams, each representing a country (and now a region), go head-to-head over four days of match play, fighting for points in both fourball and foursomes format.

The 2025 edition has a $2 million prize purse on stake, which is one of the largest in women’s team golf. The winning team will take $500k home, with each player getting $125k.

What is more interesting is how the participating teams were decided. The decision was based on the combined Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings of each nation’s top four players. These were taken into consideration after the 2025 AIG Women’s Open in early August. Based on that, each team is awarded a point. The lower the point, the higher the seeding.

With that, here’s how the field shapes up:

#1 United States (42 points)

• Angel Yin
• Lauren Coughlin
• Lilia Vu
• Yealimi Noh – replacing Nelly Korda

The US comes in as the top seed, but without its biggest star, Nelly Korda. Korda (ranked 2nd in the world), who was set to participate in the event, withdrew at the last minute due to lingering neck issues and overall fatigue after a packed season.

#2 Japan (50 points)

• Miyo Yamashita,
• Rio Takeda,
• Mao Saigo,
• Ayaka Furue

#3 South Korea (56 points)

• Kim Hyo-joo
• Rye Hae-ran
• Ko Jin-young
• Choi Hye-jin

As hosts and past champions from 2018, South Korea will be sentimental favorites.

#4 Australia (81 points)

• Minjee Lee
• Hannah Green
• Grace Kim
• Stephanie Kyriacou

#5 Thailand (96 points) – Defending Champions

• Atthaya (Jeeno) Thitikul
• Ariya Jutanugarn
• Chanettee Wannasaen
• Pajaree Anannarukarn – replacing Patty Tavatanakit

#6 Sweden (126 points)

• Maja Stark
• Madelene Sagström
• Ingrid Lindblad
• Linn Grant

#7 World Team (150 points) – New for 2025

• Lydia Ko  – Oceania (New Zealand)
• Charley Hull – Europe (England)
• Brooke Henderson – Americas (Canada)
• Hsu Wei-ling– Asia (Chinese Taipei)

This is the most intriguing addition yet. A “dream team” that will be representing regions not otherwise qualified. With stars like Lydia Ko and Charley Hull, there is a lot of curiosity and excitement around the team.

#8 China (285 points)

• Yin Ruoning
• Zhang Weiwei
• Yan Liu
• Ruixin Liu – replacing Lin Xiyu (on maternity leave)

With such a star-studded course, let us see how the game will actually unfold.

The blueprint of the International Crown: How the competition works?

The tournament structure is simple. The eight teams are divided into two pools based on their seedings. Pool A has the US, Australia, Thailand, and China. On the other hand, Pool B has Japan, South Korea, Sweden, and the World Team.

Over the first three days, i.e., from Thursday to Saturday, each country will face the other three teams in its pool in fourball matches. Each matchup will feature two pairs from each team, so four matches total between the two nations.

The winner will earn 1 point, a draw will earn 0.5 points, and a loss will earn 0. This is similar to the Ryder Cup/Solheim Cup format.

At the end of the group stage, each team’s total points (out of six possible) decide who moves on. If there’s a tie, it’s broken by head-to-head results, total holes won, and finally, combined world ranking.

Then comes the Championship Sunday. The day will see both the semifinals and finals, each scheduled for the morning and the afternoon, respectively.

The Morning Semifinal will see the top team from Pool A facing the runner-up from Pool B. The same will be done in a flip manner for the other match. Which means the top team from Pool B will face the runner-up from Team A. Each of these semifinals will include two single matches and one foursome match.

In this manner, the first team to reach 2 points will win and then advance to the final.

Then comes the showdown in the afternoon. The two semifinal winners will face each other in the same format (2 singles +1 foursome). The semifinal losers will then play a simultaneous third-place playoff.

The formats are similar to other team tournaments in golf, but the way they are designed and laid out over the course of four days is strategically impressive and makes it much more challenging.

A week to mark on your calendars

If you are a fan of women’s golf, there is no way you should miss this week. The vibe in South Korea will be immaculate, similar to the one at Bethpage Black (hopefully, minus the rowdiness). The last time the country hosted in 2018, they won the tournament.

Talking about winning, Thailand will be looking to defend its title. With Jeeno Thitikul holding the World No. 1 place and Korda out of the picture, the expectations will be high for a repeat run. It should be noted that no team has ever successfully defended the International Crown.

And of course, the US will be looking to bounce back after missing the podium. Sure, it has its star player missing. But even without her, the Americans remain stacked with talent. And lastly, Lydia Ko’s debut in the event feels long overdue. As one of golf’s modern greats with an Olympic gold and a Hall of Fame, she finally gets her shot at International Crown glory, that too as the leader of the all-new World Team.