SEOUL: South Korea is set to host the International Crown, an LPGA match-play team competition, for the second time in 2025, as announced by the organizers. The biennial event will take place at the New Korea Country Club in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, from October 23 to 26.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the International Crown, which began in 2014, is sponsored by LIFEPLUS, a brand under the South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group. This includes Hanwha Life and Hanwha Investment and Securities. The competition had its first two editions in the United States before South Korea hosted it in Incheon in 2018. The event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed in Thailand in 2023.
South Korea emerged victorious in the 2018 edition held on home soil. The participating teams and players for the 2025 event will be determined by world rankings next year. The format includes three days of fourball match plays, where players play their own balls, followed by a final round combining singles and f
oursome matches, with golfers alternating shots using one ball per team.
The four editions of the International Crown have seen different champions: Spain in 2014, the United States in 2016, South Korea in 2018, and Thailand in 2023.