We are still a little bit over a month away from the rosters for the International Crown being locked in, but we do know the countries who will be officially participating in it. Let’s take a look at what teams are most set up for success if the rosters were to be selected right now:
No. 8 – China – Ruoning Yin, Weiwei Zhang, Yan Liu, Ruixin Liu – With Olympic Bronze Medalist Xiyu Lin likely out due to her pregnancy, this team got a lot thinner. Ruoning Yin of course is a young superstar and Yan Liu has shown some solid potential in 2025, China just doesn’t have the same level of experience on the LPGA Tour. Outside of Yin, the other three players have 11 combined top-10 finishes on Tour.
No. 7 – World Team – Lydia Ko, Celine Boutier, Brooke Henderson, Wei-Ling Hsu – For the record, I think any of the top seven teams can win here, and the new World Team is a great idea to get more superstars in this event. The issue is, none of these players are really inspiring a lot of confidence right now. While Ko is still ranked No. 3 in the world, she hasn’t registered a top-10 finish since March. Boutier has had some great results but has been very inconsistent. Henderson has fallen out of the top 40 in the world and has just one top 10 in 14 starts. Hsu has a couple good starts as of late but nothing yet that moves the needle. Love this idea and improvement of format, but not sure this team is taking it all this year.
No. 6 – Thailand – Jeeno Thitikul, Ariya Jutanugarn, Patty Tavatanakit, Chanettee Wannasaen – Like the World Team, I think the defending champions from Thailand really struggle with consistency. The upside is high, especially with the No. 2 player in the world leading them, now with some experience in this event. That being said, Patty Tavatanakit has not had her best stuff for most of the season and while Jutanugarn and Wannasaen have had a lot of great moments this year, I don’t think this roster has enough to get it done compared to the other countries ahead of it.
No. 5 – Sweden – Maja Stark, Madelene Sagström, Linn Grant, Ingrid Lindblad – How about the Swedes this year? Stark got her first major title at the U.S. Women’s Open, Sagström has been inconsistent but has three top-20 finishes and a win at Shadow Creek, Ingrid Lindblad got her first win and is a strong Rookie of the Year candidate and Grant has shown a lot of improvement with three top-10 finishes. Now, this team has a lot of inconsistency, none of these players are exactly ones you can count on week-to-week. That being said, there’s a lot of match play experience here and that could be a massive advantage.
No. 4 – The United States – Nelly Korda, Angel Yin, Lilia Vu, Lauren Coughlin – While on paper nobody is touching this United States team, in reality, I don’t know what to think of it. When these four are at their best, they would be unbeatable, but both Vu and Coughlin have been trending down in 2025. Of course, for Vu that can mostly be chalked up to injury and if she is healthy, this is a very different outlook. Vu is making less than half her cuts and her near win in Arizona is her only top-10 finish so far. Coughlin has missed three cuts in a row and is +21 over her last four major rounds. Even Korda, still No. 1 and playing good golf, doesn’t have a win this season. I do think Yin will bring a lot to this team both in spirit and play, but I don’t know what to make of them quite yet.
No. 3 – Australia – Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Stephanie Kyriacou, Gabi Ruffels – This team really feels like one who can win it, I just have slightly less confidence in their depth than the top three. Lee has been in good form this season and her major championship victory at The KPMG Women’s PGA really capped that comeback off. Green is still one of the more well-rounded players in the world and has a game that should pair with anyone. Kyriacou and Ruffels haven’t gotten wins yet on the LPGA Tour, but they have a lot of potential and look like stars when their games are on. Chemistry is a major factor as well, and no team in the world will be more of a tight-knit unit quite like the Aussies.
No. 2 – Japan – Mao Saigo, Rio Takeda, Ayaka Furue, Miyu Yamashita – This team is loaded with talent, which explains why Japan has been such a dominant force on the LPGA over the last two seasons. The lone issue is the lack of play on huge international stages. While every other team other than China has at least two Olympians, Japan has only one in Yamashita. Furue is the only player who has taken part in this event. This team has a lot of youth, Furue is the oldest on the team at 25-years-old, and that could work either in their favor or against them. The upside here is higher than any other team, with four young superstars, but they are just outside the top spot.
No. 1 – Republic of Korea – Haeran Ryu, Hyo Joo Kim, Jin Young Ko, Hye Jin Choi – It says a lot about this team that Jin Young Ko, a two-time LPGA Tour Player of the Year, is the player I have the least confidence in here. While South Korea, the host country of this event, hasn’t necessarily had the same winning record on Tour over the last couple years, they still have four wildly consistent players. I think an argument could be made that Haeran Ryu has as much raw talent as anyone in the world. Hyo Joo Kim has had a really nice bounceback season with four top-10 finishes and a win in Arizona, and Hye Jin Choi has been fantastic as of late, getting into contention at the last two Tour stops.
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