Team South Korea, which entered the LPGA’s UL International Crown as top seed, fell to second at the tournament’s end Sunday as the American team clinched the winning crown.
The Americans had ended the first day of the biennial, four-day event with zero points, but ended with 13, besting seven other national teams at the Merit Club in Chicago. South Korea, with 12 points, was followed by England and Taiwan, with 11 points each, and Japan, with 8 points. China, Thailand and Australia were eliminated.
When Sunday’s singles matches kicked off, the Americans were tied for third with Taiwan, and behind Pool B leader England and Pool A leader South Korea.
American player Gerina Piller, ranked No. 15 in the Rolex Rankings, had a 5-and-3 match against Taiwan’s Yani Tseng. Stacy Lewis finished with a 3-and-2 win over Japan’s Mika Miyazato, and Cristie Kerr had similar results against England’s Melissa Reid.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu won 2-and-1 over Lexi Thompson.
“We couldn’t win the tournament, but anyway, we still finished better than last time,” Ryu told the Associated Press, after the game. “Last time we’re third and this year second, so hopefully we can get a crown at 2018.”
In 2018, the event will have its third showing at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea.
Ryu took to Instagram to thank her teammates, writing, “It’s not the result we expected, but we did our best for sure.”
