The World Team superstars grinded out some come-from-behind points to win the session against Japan’s young superstars in the first round of the International Crown.
The team of Brooke Henderson and Wei-Ling Hsu were down three only eight holes into the match and were struggling to get any momentum going. That is when two-time major champion Brooke Henderson took control. Henderson had birdies on holes nine and 10 , each of those hole wins, to tie the match in seemingly an instant. On the final stretch, the spark came from Wei-Ling Hsu making a huge birdie on 18.
In the other match, the powerhouse team of Charley Hull and Lydia Ko were two down on the back nine, but Hull closed that gap to just one with a birdie on 12. Ko then responded with birdies on the final two holes of the match, including a long putt to bring the match to a tie on 18.
Japan is in a bit of a hole now, gaining just 1/2 point in round one, and needs a strong day against Sweden in the second round to get back into it.
In the other matches, Korea mostly took care of business against Sweden, grabbing 1 1/2 points. The pairing of Hyo Joo Kim and Hye Jin Choi defeated the Solheim Cup duo Maja Stark and Linn Grant 3&2. Choi in particular was strong, especially on the back nine where she made birdies on 12 and 14. Grant and Stark were always going to have to rely on their more aggressive play styles to make birdies in order to win holes, and that didn’t come through for them as both were a bit all over the place.
On the positive side for Sweden, Ingrid Lindblad and Madelene Sagström grinded out a half point against Jin Young Ko and Haeran Ryu.
Sweden was actually up for a lot of the match, but a couple birdies at the start of the back nine brought it back to the home country’s side on 13. A big birdie from Ingrid Lindblad helped bring it back to all square on 14 and she kept the match tied with another on 16. Sagström did her part as well, matching the Korean birdies on 17.
This should be an encouraging performance for Lindblad, who is looking to make her first Solheim Cup in 2026. She stayed in the match and had some clutch holes down the stretch.
In round 2, Korea (1.5 pts) takes on the World Team (1.5 pts) in a massive matchup, while Japan (.5 pts) will try to get momentum back against Sweden (.5 pts).
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