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It’s Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown week, and Team Thailand is seeking to defend their trophy. With World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul at the helm, the four from Thailand look poised to put up a good showing.
There were some changes to the Thailand team, though. Ariya Jutanugarn withdrew because of an injury, bringing in Jasmine Suwannapura for her first International Crown appearance. Alongside Thitikul and Suwannapura, Chanettee Wannasaen and Pajaree Anannarukarn are poised to make their first International Crown starts. Anannarukarn replaced Patty Tavatanakit after her withdrawal. But a little change isn’t always a bad thing; the four Thai golfers have 13 LPGA Tour wins between them and will vie to add another as a team.
The defending champs have some work cut out for them. Among the top competitors is Team Japan, whose squad consists of two 2025 major champions. Miyu Yamashita, who won the 2025 AIG Women’s Open and Mao Saigo, winner of the 2025 Chevron Championship, join Rio Takeda and Ayaka Furue for Team Japan. Takeda was the first rookie to win on the LPGA Tour this season with a victory at the 2025 Blue Bay LPGA. Furue is making her second International Crown appearance.
Japan’s team is strong, to say the least. The team leads all International Crown teams in strokes gained per round this season. They’re efficient, consistent and down to business. Although three players are making their International Crown debuts, each of those players has won on Tour this season. Yamashita, Saigo and Takeda have that first-time energy surging through them, and Furue is going to lead them.
When talking about experience, you have to consider the number one seed in the tournament: Team USA. Nelly Korda’s absence will certainly hurt the Americans, but Yealimi Noh will bring a little hometown love to the competition as her replacement. Noh’s parents are from Korea, and she spent time visiting family in Seoul every year growing up. She feels right at home at New Korea Country Club. That favor might bode well for the Americans.
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Joining Noh as first timers in the International Crown for the USA squad are Angel Yin and Lauren Coughlin. Yin has a win this year on tour at the Honda LPGA Thailand and Coughlin had a monster 2024, looking the best she has in her entire career. The three of them will be led by Lilia Vu, who played in the 2023 International Crown. With their Solheim Cup experience and electricity, Team USA is going to be a solid contender for the Crown.
You can never count out the Republic of Korea, seeing as they have a stacked squad, combining for 25 LPGA Tour victories. Plus, they’re playing on home soil, which always gives a team a bit of an extra boost. The legendary Jin Young Ko will play alongside 2025 Ford Championship winner Hyo Joo Kim, 2025 Black Desert Championship winner Haeran Ryu and consistent striker Hye-Jin Choi.
You also can’t doubt Minjee Lee’s experience with Team Australia, as she is the only player in the field to have competed in all five International Crown events. Joining Lee is 2025 Amundi Evian Championship winner, Grace Kim, Hannah Green and Steph Kyriacou. Kyriacou, Green and Lee were all part of that 2023 Australia squad that came ever so close and finished runner-up to Thailand. The team from Down Under is dangerous for sure.
It is so hard to say who will walk away with the International Crown this season. You have a strong People’s Republic of China team, a Sweden team with three 2025 winners and loads of poise and a World team that has somehow collected the powerhouses of Charley Hull, Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson and Wei-Ling Hsu. It’s going to be quite a show.
See you next week to break it down, golf fans!
This week in women’s golf
LPGA News
Field breakdown: 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown
Five things to know about the 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown
How to watch the 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown
Meet the United States team: 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown
Meet the Republic of Korea team
Meet the People’s Republic of China team
Sei Young Kim wins 2025 BMW Ladies Championship by four strokes to end five-year drought
Major champion Eun-Hee Ji announces retirement from LPGA Tour
Lucy Li makes 18th ace of 2025, wins car in first round of BMW Ladies Championship
LET News
Order of Merit leader Tan admits stronger form is due to smarter scheduling this season
World No. 11 Woad returns to the LET this week in Taoyuan
Tournament update: Wistron Ladies Open
Huang seeks three consecutive LET titles at the Wistron Ladies Open
Defending champion Tamburlini reflects on fond memories at Sunrise Golf & Country Club
Watch live: Wistron Ladies Open
Meet the 2025 LET Access Series graduates
LET continues its Asian swing for the Wistron Ladies Open
Bakshi secures card after “amazing” week on home soil
Amateur/NCAA News
Ganne, Stanford claim Stanford Intercollegiate individual and team victories
USA wins 2025 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship
Five at The IX: Sei Young Kim’s record-breaking win at the 2025 BMW Ladies Championship
On Sunday, Oct. 19, Sei Young Kim broke her five-year winless drought and became the 27th different winner on the LPGA Tour this season, snapping the previous record of 26. She captured the 2025 BMW Ladies Championship title at Pine Beach Golf Links in the Republic of Korea with a total score of 24-under-par. Kim’s opening round of 62 (-10) and three more rounds in the 60s helped her to her 13th LPGA Tour victory. She tied the 18 and 36-hole tournament scoring records and then broke the 54 and 72-hole tournament scoring records with her consistent, clean play. Kim’s 26 birdies of the week were the most of any player in the field. Here’s what the record-setter had to say in her post-win press conference.
THE MODERATOR: We joined by our winner Sei Young Kim here at the BMW Ladies Championship. Our the 27th different winner this season on the LPGA Tour, which I don’t know if you know, breaks a record on the LPGA Tour. What does that mean to hear that and to be part of such an historic season?
SEI YOUNG KIM: I think it shows how strong the LPGA Tour is at the moment. In the past, we normally had winners coming from top five or top 10 now but…you never know where we’re going to have the winner. It’s becoming like the PGA TOUR, where we have so many strong, competent players on the planet.
THE MODERATOR: And winning in your home country, what does that mean to you, and what has the fan support meant?
SEI YOUNG KIM: I think it took me more than ten years to win a victory in front of my family and friends. It means so much to me. It is a tournament that I really wanted to win, and I find that I can’t express my words to all of it. I really had good energy from all the fans, and really appreciate and thankful to that.
Q. Walk us through the play today, you missed a birdie chance on the first hole, and also you had a bogey and three-putt on the third hole and then you made consecutive birdies. Can you please walk us through all that?
SEI YOUNG KIM: Yes, I was very nervous from the very beginning, since it has been a while since I played in the last group, I wasn’t sure whether this was real. So I really was questioning myself.
I did miss birdie chance on the first hole and made a bogey. And A Lim was really chasing me by one shot, she’s a very aggressive player, so I thought I should play aggressively, as well. That attitude continued until the end of the round and my father always told me when I’m nervous, don’t back off and I tried to remember that mindset.
Q. You’ve been working with your caddie, and you’ve never changed your caddie. What is the reason why you’ve been working so well with your caddie, and today, what advice did he give you?
SEI YOUNG KIM: I’m ever grateful, there are so many great players on the LPGA and I was afraid he was actually going to leave me. But Paul I think is one of the great caddies out there. I wanted to make a good performance so that it’s worthy that he stays with me. I’m really thankful that he’s been working all the way here with me. He’s a veteran caddie with more than 30 years of experience. Today’s play it was very stable. It was actually me who had lots of up-and-downs, and I think Paul by the No. 4 hole, he said something in Korean, something like, “You can do it” in Korean. I can’t remember it but that really cheered me up.
Q. The significance of this victory, of course you didn’t have the win for the past five years, I’m sure it was difficult times and now with this win it’s almost like a new second chapter in your career life. So I want to hear about your opinions on that, and also there are many players on the Tour who haven’t had a win for a while, and for that you can be a role model. I just want to hear the significance of this victory.
SEI YOUNG KIM: I think the players who have been doing well will eventually find their way back to pick up their momentum, and it can take a while, and I don’t think you can find that out by yourself. You always need help from others. That’s also what I have been doing, getting help from others. When I’m going off the track, there’s always people telling me and putting me back to the right track. I think that’s how to overcome it.
And obviously not every day can be a good day. There can be bad days and good days, and it’s very important to appreciate the people you have around you and be nice to them, and also, the players who are doing well, they have to just keep remind themselves about the good days that they had.
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