The Hanwha Life Plus International Crown (total prize money of $2 million) is the only national competition in women’s golf in the world. Each of the eight countries will form a team to determine the best country in golf. It is different from the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, and Solheim Cup, in which European and international teams, centered on the United States, compete.
Ahead of this tournament, which was revived after 5 years since 2018, there were many prospects that the traditional women’s golf powerhouses, the United States and Korea, would play a two-way structure. Three out of four U.S. players, including World No. Korea also has the strongest power, such as Ko Jin-young (28), 3rd in the world ranking, and Kim Hyo-joo (28), 9th.
However, when the lid was opened, unexpected results came out. At the tournament that just ended on the 8th (Korean time), Thailand, consisting of the ‘veteran’ Jutanugarn sisters, ‘young gun’ Ataya Tittikkun (20), and Patty Tawatanakit (24) won the championship cup. The United States, which was a strong candidate for the championship, only finished in third place, and Korea was eliminated from the preliminaries. It shows the changed world women’s golf game at a glance.
Thailand defeated Australia by 4 holes in 2 single matches and 1 foursome match in the final of the tournament held at TPC Harding Park (par 72) in San Francisco, California. Titikkun, who once ranked first in the world rankings, defeated Stephanie Kiriaku with a ‘4 and 2’ (4 holes leaving 2 holes), and Tawatanakit, the winner of the ANA Inspiration in the 2021 major tournament, defeated Hannah Green with a ‘4 and 3’. Reaped. In a situation where the Young Guns confirmed the championship early on, the sisters Moriya-Eriya Jutanugarn dominated Lee Min-jee and Sara Kemp 4&3 and decorated the finale more perfectly.
The ‘typhoon’ caused by Thai players hit hard throughout the tournament. Thailand, which was seeded 6th out of 8 participating countries, showed off its perfect performance by conceding only one game out of 12. In the Group B group stage, they won all six matches against Japan (No. 3), Korea (No. 2), and Australia (No. 7), advancing to the finals. In the semifinals on the same day, they defeated the strongest USA 2-1.
The greatest strength of women’s golf in Thailand is the harmony of old and new. The Jutanugarn sisters are the driving force behind the boom in women’s golf in Thailand. Although the peak period has passed a little, stable performance and fantastic teamwork have won all 5 matches in this tournament. Eriya Jutanugarn, who was selected as the newly established MVP in this competition, was delighted, saying, “I have been waiting for this moment since her first competition in 2014.”
The children who jumped into golf after seeing her sister’s performance have grown into full-fledged players and are taking the world golf stage. Tawatanagit and Titikkun, who jointly won the championship in this competition, are representative ‘Juttanukan Kids’. They have won the Rookie of the Year award on the LPGA Tour for the past two years, continuing the Thai craze in women’s golf.안전놀이터
When the championship was confirmed on this day, Titikkun said, “Our team poured 100% of everything. We have built the best team in the world,” she said proudly.
Korean women’s golf, which has been on a downward trend since Corona 19, tried to turn around through this tournament, but lost shape due to being eliminated from the preliminary round.
Korea, the champion of the 2018 tournament, entered the tournament as the defending champion, but failed to win a single game in the preliminary round and lost to Australia and Thailand in a row. After confirming their elimination early, they managed to save face by defeating Japan.
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