Women's Golf International Crown "Hanwha Sponsorship Resumes Next May"

Hanwha LifePlus International Crown 2023 Opens in May
World Rankings as of November 21 Determine 8 Participating Countries

Mina Harigae, Mollie Marcoux Samaan LPGA Commissioner, Young Seung-joo Hanwha Life Insurance CEO, and So-yeon Ryu (from left) are taking a commemorative photo after the Hanwha LifePlus International Crown signing ceremony. Photo by Getty Images/LPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter Seohee Lee] The women's golf international team competition, the International Crown, is being held again in Korea after five years with sponsorship from the domestic conglomerate Hanwha.

The LPGA Tour announced on the 12th (local time) that "Hanwha Life Insurance, Hanwha General Insurance, Hanwha Investment & Securities, Hanwha Asset Management, and Hanwha Savings Bank's joint brand 'Hanwha LIFEPLUS' will serve as the official title sponsor of the International Crown, which will be held for four days from May 4, 2023, at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California, USA."

Established in 2014, the International Crown is a biennial women's golf international team competition. It was held in Spain in 2014, the United States in 2016, and Korea in 2018, while the 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19. The official name of the 2023 International Crown, held after five years, has been decided as the "Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown." The 2025 event will take place in Korea.

The International Crown features 32 players, with four players from each of eight countries. Participating countries are determined based on world rankings as of November 21 this year. The players representing each country are selected according to rankings as of April 2, 2023.

The tournament lasts four days, with the first three days consisting of group stage matches played in a four-ball format. Four-ball is a format where two players on the same team each play their own ball, and the better score on each hole counts as the team's score for that hole.

Afterward, the top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals on the final morning, where they compete, followed by the finals and third-place match in the afternoon. The finals, third-place match, and semifinals are played with two singles match plays and one foursomes match (where two players on the same team alternate shots with one ball).

Korea won the tournament held in October 2018 at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Songdo, Incheon, with players Park Sung-hyun (29), Yoo So-yeon (32), Kim In-kyung (34), and Jeon In-ji (28). Spain was crowned the inaugural champion in 2014, and the United States took the title in 2016.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.