Today the seven qualifying teams for the 2025 International Crown, played in South Korea in October, were locked in, and there are no surprises.
Leading the way are the United States and Korea in the top two slots, which shouldn’t be a shock considering both countries have four players in the top 25 in the Rolex Rankings. The United States team at the moment would be Nelly Korda, Angel Yin, Lilia Vu and Lauren Coughlin. For Korea, it would be Haeran Ryu, Hyo Joo Kim, Jin Young Ko and Hye Jin Choi.
Many people would scout Japan as an early favorite, and they will be in the field with a deep roster of potential players. At the moment, it would be Mao Saigo, Rio Takeda, Ayaka Furue and Miyu Yamashita.
The defending champions from Thailand are in the field but the team will likely look different with Moriya Jutanugarn unlikely to make the final squad. Her sister Ariya, Jeeno Thitikul and Patty Tavatanakit would be joined by Chanettee Wannasaen if the teams were finalized today.
Sweden has been propelled by three winners in 2025, Madelene Sagström, Maja Stark and Ingrid Lindblad. Linn Grant will round out that group of four. Australia is another country with a major winner, Minjee Lee, who will be joined by Hannah Green as well as likely Stephanie Kyriacou and Gabi Ruffels.
That leaves one remaining country, China, who will be led by superstar Ruoning Yin. This team will be the underdog here as Xiyu Lin will likely not be playing due to her pregnancy. That probably leaves Weiwei Zhang, Yan Liu and Ruixin Liu, none of whom are in the top 75 in the world.
The new wrinkle for 2025 is the “world team” which is essentially the best of the rest. This team will include the top ranked player from the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa/Oceania from countries not already represented. As of now, this team would include Lydia Ko, Celine Boutier, Brooke Henderson and Wei-Ling Hsu.
Full player selections will be solidified in early August.
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