Team United States looked nearly unbeatable for most of the 2025 International Crown. Lilia Vu & Co. annihilated any opponent they faced on their way to the finals. However, they only missed out on winning the title in the very last round on Sunday. Despite that, the 2016 champions were still applauded for their efforts and for achieving the Silver Medal in the end. All through the while, no one even noticed that Team U.S. was missing one vital player, Nelly Korda.

The world’s #2 had withdrawn from the event a few weeks ago. According to sources, the reason behind her exit was an injury. Instead of Korda, Yealimi Noh took the trip with Vu, Angel Yin, and Lauren Coughlin to play in the 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown. Despite facing a tough defeat in the final, it seemed like the team was in complete sync.

When the team was asked if playing together got them a bit closer and helped them prepare for the next International Crown, Yin told the reporter, “Yeah. Especially with Solheim next year, I think it’s going to be fun.” The Solheim Cup will be played on foreign soil for Yin, Vu, Korda, & Co. next year. So they need to connect and understand each other’s games to perform well as a unit against Team Europe in the Netherlands. This provided a good opportunity for them to do so in South Korea.

Vu also added to the conversation as she said, “Yeah. I mean, it kind of goes to show, the two teams, in my opinion, that had the best camaraderie ended up doing the best. So that’s my takeaway from it.” Just like the American side, Team Australia was also in complete sync. While they couldn’t perform well in the Pool stage, they were able to fend off the threat from a dominant Team World from the other Pool.

What was impressive was that Australia struggled against Team U.S. during their alternate shot matches in the Pool stage. However, they learned from their mistakes and worked on their strengths to beat them in the singles matches in the finals.

But it wasn’t just the Australian camaraderie that took the game away from Team U.S. in the 2025 International Crown. Let’s see who was the heavyweight player who proved to be impossible to beat in the Republic of (South) Korea.

Who was the biggest threat to Team U.S.?

While having Nelly Korda in the team would have certainly boosted their morale, Team U.S. had other things to worry about in the finals. There was one player who was in the form of her life in the 2025 International Crown as she dominated all four days of the event. That was Team Australia’s Minjee Lee, who, unlike the American side, was actually unbeatable in South Korea.

Min Woo Lee’s sister nearly won every match she played in throughout the tournament. In the three foursome matches she played in the Pool stage, she and Stephanie Kyriacou won twice and tied once. Their only shared point was against Team U.S.’s Yealimi Noh & Angel Yin. In the semifinals, Lee turned things around against Team World’s Brooke Henderson in the last three holes to win her match and secure her team a vital point. In the finals, Minjee Lee beat Angel Yin 2 & 1 to help Team Australia win their first International Crown. In the end, she was also awarded the MVP of the 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown.

Could Nelly Korda have changed that result if she had played the event? Guess we will never know!