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2023 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown: How to watch, who’s playing at TPC Harding Park in global team match-play event

Nelly Korda (L) and Lexi Thompson at Pelican Women's Championship - Final Round

BELLEAIR, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 14: Nelly Korda (L) and Lexi Thompson walk down the seventh hole during the final round of the Pelican Women’s Championship at Pelican Golf Club on November 14, 2021 in Belleair, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

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The Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown returns to the LPGA calendar this week for the first time since 2018, as eight countries gear up for team match play in this biennial competition that began in 2014. Hosted this year at venerable TPC Harding Park, located in the southwest corner of San Francisco along Lake Merced, the International Crown marks the first elite women’s competition to be held at this historic venue.

South Korea looks to defend its 2018 title and is led by current world No. 3 Jin Young Ko, while 2016 champion USA fields a strong roster boasting world No. 1 Nelly Korda and No. 7 Lexi Thompson, one of four players in the field (along with Thailand’s Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn and Australia’s Minjee Lee) who have played in all three previous editions of the International Crown. Spain, winners of the inaugural International Crown in 2014, did not qualify for this year’s event.

The eight countries competing at Harding Park -- United States, South Korea, Japan, Sweden, England, Thailand, Australia and China -- were determined based on the combined Rolex Rankings of the top four players from each country following the conclusion of the 2022 CME Group Tour Championship in November. The team seedings and individual qualifiers (32 total) were determined by the rankings as of April 3.

The 32-player field features seven of the top 10 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings -- No. 1 Korda, No. 3 Ko, No. 4 Lilia Vu (USA), No. 5 Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), No. 6 Lee, No. 7 Thompson and No. 9 Hyo Joo Kim (South Korea) – and 21 players inside the top 50, including four LPGA winners in 2023 (Ko, Vu, Australia’s Hannah Green and China’s Ruoning Yin). Twenty of the 32 players are making their first event appearance.

The teams are competing for a $2 million prize purse, with $500,000 going to the winning team ($125,000 to each player). However, the International Crown does not count as an official LPGA victory for members of the winning team and earnings are unofficial.


How to watch the 2023 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown

You can watch the 2023 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown on Golf Channel, Peacock, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Check out the complete TV and streaming schedule:


  • Thursday, May 4: 6-9 p.m. ET, Golf Channel and Peacock
  • Friday, May 5: 6-9 p.m. ET, Golf Channel and Peacock
  • Saturday, May 6: 6-9 p.m. ET, Golf Channel and Peacock
  • Sunday, May 7: 6-9 p.m. ET, Golf Channel and Peacock

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Who’s playing in the 2023 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown

The eight countries in the International Crown field were determined by the combined Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings of the top four players from each country as of the Nov. 21, 2022, immediately following the CME Group Tour Championship. The final field of 32 players was determined via rankings published April 3, immediately following the DIO Implant LA Open. If a player ranked in the top four of a pre-qualified country does not/cannot compete, the spot will be filled by the country’s next highest ranked player available from the April 3 rankings. Note: England had to take advantage of this provision recently, as Georgia Hall and Charley Hull withdrew on May 1 due to injury and illness, respectively. They were replaced by Alice Hewson and Liz Young.

Team USA (No. 1)

PLAYERRANKING (as of April 3)PREVIOUS IC APPEARANCESOVERALL RECORDFOUR-BALL RECORDSINGLES RECORD
Nelly Korda2nonen/an/an/a
Lexi Thompson62014, 2016, 20187-3-17-2-00-1-1
Lilia Vu12nonen/an/an/a
Danielle Kang14nonen/an/an/a

Team Republic of Korea (No. 2)

PLAYERRANKING (as of April 3)PREVIOUS IC APPEARANCESOVERALL RECORDFOUR-BALL RECORDSINGLES RECORD
Jin Young Ko3nonen/an/an/a
Hyo-Joo Kim9nonen/an/an/a
In Gee Chun112016, 20186-2-05-1-01-1-0
Hye Jin Choi25nonen/an/an/a

Team Japan (No. 3)

PLAYERRANKING (as of April 3)PREVIOUS IC APPEARANCESOVERALL RECORDFOUR-BALL RECORDSINGLES RECORD
Nasa Hataoka1320182-0-12-0-1
Ayaka Furue19nonen/an/an/a
Yuka Saso30nonen/an/an/a
Hinako Shibuno38nonen/an/an/a

Team Sweden (No. 4)

PLAYERRANKING (as of April 3)PREVIOUS IC APPEARANCESOVERALL RECORDFOUR-BALL RECORDSINGLES RECORD
Maja Stark27nonen/an/an/a
Madelene Sagstrom2820181-3-01-2-00-1-0
Anna Nordqvist342014, 20185-2-14-1-11-1-0
Caroline Hedwall1172014, 20184-2-24-1-10-1-1

Team England (No. 5)

PLAYERRANKING (as of April 3)PREVIOUS IC APPEARANCESOVERALL RECORDFOUR-BALL RECORDSINGLES RECORD
Jodi Ewart Shadoff452016, 20185-2-14-1-11-1-0
Bronte Law10320182-2-02-1-00-1-0
Alice Hewson165nonen/an/an/a
Liz Young207nonen/an/an/a

Team Thailand (No. 6)

PLAYERRANKING (as of April 3)PREVIOUS IC APPEARANCESOVERALL RECORDFOUR-BALL RECORDSINGLES RECORD
Atthaya Thitikul4nonen/an/an/a
Patty Tavatanakit57nonen/an/an/a
Moriya Jutanugarn712014, 2016, 20184-4-33-3-31-1-0
Ariya Jutanugarn812014, 2016, 20184-5-23-4-21-1-0

Team Australia (No. 7)

PLAYERRANKING (as of April 3)PREVIOUS IC APPEARANCESOVERALL RECORDFOUR-BALL RECORDSINGLES RECORD
Minjee Lee52014, 2016, 20182-5-22-5-2
Hanna Green23nonen/an/an/a
Steph Kyriacou107nonen/an/an/a
Sarah Kemp174nonen/an/an/a

Team China (No. 8)

PLAYERRANKING (as of April 3)PREVIOUS IC APPEARANCESOVERALL RECORDFOUR-BALL RECORDSINGLES RECORD
Xiyu Lin1720161-1-11-1-1
Ruoning Yin32nonen/an/an/a
Yu Liu181nonen/an/an/a
Ruixin Liu144nonen/an/an/a


How does the 2023 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown work?

Seeding and pools: The four-day event will feature eight teams divided into two pools for a round-robin competition over the first three days (Thursday-Saturday), with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the semifinals on Sunday.

POOLCOUNTRY 1 COUNTRY 2 COUNTRY 3COUNTRY 4
AUSA (No. 1)Sweden (No. 4)England (No. 5)China (No. 8)
BKorea (No. 2)Japan (No. 3)Thailand (No. 6)Australia (No. 7)

Format: The pool play portion of the competition will feature four-ball matches on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The top two countries from each pool will advance to Sunday morning’s semifinal matches. Each semifinal will consist of two singles matches and one foursomes match. The winning countries from each semi will advance to the final on Sunday afternoon, with the two losing countries competing for third place. Both finals matches will use the same format as the semifinals.


  • Days 1-3 (Group play): Each country will play two four-ball matches against each of the other three countries in their pool. At the conclusion of the three days of four-ball competition, the two countries with the most points from each pool will advance to Sunday.
  • Day 4 (semifinals and finals): The winning country from Pool A will play the second-place country from Pool B. The first-place country from Pool B will play the second-place country from Pool A. Each matchup will consist of two singles matches and one foursomes match (lineup determined by each respective country). The first country to reach two points wins their match. The winning countries from the semifinals will face off in the finals, while the losing countries will play each other in a third-place match. All matches will be played to a conclusion (no ties).

Scoring: Teams are awarded one point for a win, one half-point for a tie and zero points for a loss. All points from the four-ball matches are cumulative and will determine the top two countries advancing from each pool. On Sunday, the first country to four points will win the head-to-head matchup.

Breaking ties: If two countries tie for first place in a pool, the following formula will be used to break ties:


  • Total points accumulated in head-to-head matchups between the tied countries;
  • Total number of matches won in all six four-ball matches;
  • Highest seeded country entering the competition.

If three or more countries are tied for first place, or two or more countries are tied for second place within each group, a playoff will be used to determine the countries advancing to Sunday. If only two countries are in the playoff, the format will be hole-by-hole, four-ball match play. If more than two countries are in the playoff, the format will be hole-by-hole, four-ball stroke play.


Match-play refresher: Four-ball vs. foursomes

Match play: Unlike stroke play, where scoring uses the total number of strokes taken over one or more rounds of golf, match play scoring consists of individual holes won, halved or lost. On each hole, the most that can be gained is one point. Golfers play as normal, counting the strokes taken on a given hole, with the golfer recording the lowest score on a given hole earning one point. If the golfers tie, then the hole is tied (or halved).

Foursomes: Also known as alternate shot, foursomes is a form of team match play where two players compete as a side, with the partners playing one ball in alternating order on each hole. The playing partners also must alternate in teeing off to start each hole.

Four-ball: Also called best ball, four-ball also involves two competitors playing as partners and competing together as a side. However, each player plays their own ball, with lower score being recorded as the team’s score on that hole.


Past winners of the International Crown

YEARWINNER (score*, team members)RUNNER(S)-UPCOURSELOCATION
2018Korea, 15 points (In Gee Chun, In-Kyung Kim, Sung Hyun Park, So Yeon Ryu)USA, 11 points (Cristie Kerr, Jessica Korda, Lexi Thompson, Michelle Wie West); England, 11 points (Georgia Hall, Charley Hull, Bronte Law, Jodi Ewart Shadoff)Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea (36-36=72; 6,508 yards)Incheon, Republic of Korea
2016USA, 13 points (Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Gerina Mendoza, Lexi Thompson)

South Korea, 12 points
(In Gee Chun, Sei Young Kim, So Yeon Ryu, Amy Yang)

Merit Club (35-37=72; 6,668 yards)Gurnee, Illinois
2014Spain, 15 points (Carlota Ciganda, Belen Mozo, Azahara Munoz, Beatriz Recari)

Sweden, 11 points (Caroline Hedwall, Pernilla Lindberg, Anna Nordqvist, Mikaela Parmlid)

Caves Valley Golf Club (35-36=71; 6,628 yards)Owings Mills, Maryland

*NOTE: The points structure for the 2014, 2016 and 2018 International Crowns was two points for a win, one point for a tie and zero points for a loss. Starting in 2023, the points structure is one point for a win, a half-point for a tie and zero points for a loss.


Last time at the International Crown

South Korea capitalized on its “home-course advantage” at the 2018 International Crown, where 2017 AIG Women’s Open champion In-Kyung Kim defeated England’s Bronte Law 2 up in the penultimate singles match on the final day at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon. Kim’s teammates included three major champions in then-No. 1 Sung Hyun Park, So Yeon Ryu and In Gee Chun. Of note, Tropical Storm Kong-Rey forced tournament organizers to move up third-round action, originally scheduled for Saturday, to Friday afternoon. Play resumed on Sunday morning with completion of the third round and the entire fourth round.


More about TPC Harding Park

Named after U.S. President Warren G. Harding, Harding Park Golf Course first opened on July 18, 1925, in San Francisco and was designed by Willie Watson and Sam Whiting, who also designed the Lake Course at nearby The Olympic Club.

Harding Park quickly became a favorite site for major amateur tournaments, including the 1937 and 1956 USGA National Public Links Championship, and the San Francisco City Championship, the oldest consecutively played competition in the world (held at Harding Park since it opened in 1925). In 1944, the course hosted its first PGA Tour event with the Victory Open, and it became a regular Tour stop until the end of the decade, when budgetary cuts caused the course to fall into poor condition. The course reached its lowest point in 1998, when it was used as a parking lot during the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club.

The course underwent a $16 million restoration in 2002-03 and has since hosted the 2005 WGC-American Express Championship, the 2009 Presidents Cup, three Charles Schwab Cup Championships (2010, 2011, 2013), the 2015 WGC Dell Technologies Match Play and the 2020 PGA Championship. The 2023 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, however, marks the first elite women’s competition to be held at Harding Park.

The NBC Sports golf research team contributed to this report.

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