Players to don numbers on uniform at LPGA match play competition

▲ This photo provided by the LPGA on May 3, 2023, shows the four South Korean players competing at the International Crown during a practice round at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. From left: Ko Jin-young, Chun In-gee, Choi Hye-jin and Kim Hyo-joo. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This image provided by the LPGA on May 3, 2023, shows the promotional poster for the International Crown, a match play competition taking place at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

LPGA-competition

Players to don numbers on uniform at LPGA match play competition

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 3 (Yonhap) -- Taking the spirit of the team competition to another level, players at an upcoming LPGA match play competition will wear numbers on the back of their uniforms, the event's organizers said Wednesday.

The eight-country International Crown will tee off at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco on Thursday. Each nation is represented by four players, and teams for four-ball and foursome matches during this four-day event will feature two players each.

And for the first time in the event's history, players will wear a number of their choice on the back.

For the defending champion South Korea, Ko Jin-young, third on the women's world rankings, will wear No. 7 after her birthday, July 7.

Kim Hyo-joo, the next highest-ranked Korean at No. 9, chose No. 10 for her uniform because of her favorite football player, Lionel Messi. Though the Argentine star currently wears No. 30 for Paris Saint-Germain, he had long been defined by No. 10, both in international play and in his days with FC Barcelona.

Chun In-gee, the only member of the Korean team with prior International Crown experience, picked No. 8. She has an August birthday, and has won eight major titles on the LPGA, Korean and Japanese tours combined.

Choi Hye-jin will make her International Crown debut wearing No. 23, after the iconic number of her favorite athlete, Michael Jordan. Choi was born on Aug. 23.

The eight teams have been split into two groups. South Korea is in Pool B with Japan, Thailand and Australia. Pool A teams are the United States, Sweden, England and China.

The first three days of the International Crown will feature four-ball competition, in which each player in a team plays her own ball and the better score of the two becomes that duo's score on the given hole.

In Thursday's four-ball action, Choi and Chun will be up against Minjee Lee and Steph Kyriacou of Australia. Kim and Ko will take on the other Australian duo of Hannah Green and Sarah Kemp.

The top two from each pool will advance to the semifinals Sunday. A match win is worth one point, and a tie is good for a half point.

The two semifinal matches will be played Sunday morning, with each consisting of two singles matches and one foursome match, in which each team plays one ball and players take turns hitting shots.

The championship final will be Sunday afternoon, along with a third-place match. They will both have the same format as the semifinals.

This is the fourth edition of the International Crown. The US$2 million biennial competition began in 2014, with Spain being crowned the inaugural champion. The U.S. won the next event in 2016, and South Korea captured its first International Crown title on home soil two years later.

The 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved