International Crown – Preview and First Match Predictions

If you’re a match play fan like me, then you’re in for a treat this week! The 2nd edition of the International Crown brings together 4-player teams from 8 countries in a 4-day mega match play fest at Chicago’s Merit Club.

Although it’s a highly rated track – 16th in Illinois on Golf Digest’s 2015-16 list – the Merit Club hasn’t been a regular stop for the LPGA.  Not since the 2000 US Women’s Open, which Karrie Webb won, has the Tour played the course. Will that give Australia a slight edge this week? Possibly. Webb will be the only player in the field who has a history with the golf course.

The weather will be typically variable – hot and sunny on Thursday for the opening matches, hotter and with the threat of afternoon thunderstorms on Friday, cooling down on Saturday and becoming downright balmy on Sunday, but with more thunderstorms threatening for the singles matches finale, with the wind blowing steadily at about 15 mph throughout the contest.

The participating countries were determined by the Rolex Rankings published on April 4, 2016 and the final field by the Rankings published on June 16. With the exception of Inbee Park, who is still dealing with that thumb injury, there have been no substitutes in the 36 player field; and Park’s withdrawal has not diluted the strength of the Korean team.

Korea is coming into the International Crown top-seeded, followed by the United States, Japan, Australia, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, England, and China. I think it’s worth noting that Korea and the United States have swapped positions in the seeding – in 2014 United States was top-seeded and Korea was second – and in 2014 neither the United States nor Korea make a significant showing in the final results. With 5th ranked Spain claiming victory at the 2014 International Crown, Korea finished T3, alongside Japan, and the top-seeded United States finished in 6th place, ahead of Chinese Taipei and Australia.

As those of us who follow the fortunes of the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup teams know, match play is a very different animal. A team dynamic completely absent in stroke play competition figures prominently in shaping outcomes.  For Spain in 2014, the team – Beatriz Ricari, Azahara Munoz, Carlota Ciganda, and Belen Mozo – had been playing together in match play competition since they were teenagers.  The team dynamic they brought to Caves Valley took them to the top of the leaderboard.

Spain didn’t qualify for the 2016 International Crown, but several teams will be bringing varying degrees of match play experience to the Merit Club this year.

United States vs England

Certainly, the United States team – Lexi Thompson, Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, and Gerina Piller – stand out in this respect. All four played together last year at the 2015 Solheim Cup and all four were distinguished members of the US team. But the United States is not the only team who will come to the tee this week with match play history.

The 7th seeded English team – Charley Hull, Melissa Reid, Holly Clyburn, and Jodi Ewart Shadoff – are all seasoned match play competitors; and Hull and Reid played together at the 2015 Solheim Cup, delivering some of the best golf among the European team at St Leon-Rot.

The United States and England will play two four-ball matches on Thursday. By the numbers the United States will have the advantage, but I’m thinking this could be one of the more even contests at this year’s Crown, particularly if Hull and Reid are paired against Lewis and Piller. The US vs England matches could be a 1-1 split.

Australia vs Chinese Taipei

Australia is also coming to the tee at the Merit Club with some significant match play team experience. In addition to Karrie Webb’s familiarity with the course, Webb and Minjee Lee played on the 2014 Aussie International Crown team. Su Oh and Rebecca Artis, while accomplished and talented players, are more limited in their match play experience and none of the Australians played on the Aussie Queen’s Cup team last December. Will Webb and Lee be able to provide the leadership to carry the team? I think so. Look for the Aussies to easily put 2 points on the board from their Thursday matches against Chinese Taipei.

Korea vs China

The #1 seeded Korean team has one carry-over from the 2014 Crown, So Yeon Ryu. In Gee Chun and Sei Young Kim both played on the Queens Cup Korean team, leaving only Amy Yang without recent match play experience, and Yang is playing very competitive golf right now. Despite the relatively underwhelming performance at the Queens Cup, look for the Korean team to deliver a formidable challenge in their Thursday matches against China. I’m expecting both points to go on the board for Korea in these matches.

Japan vs Thailand

The 3rd ranked Japan vs 6th ranked Thailand matches could be the hottest contests in the field on Thursday. Japan dominated play at the Queens Cup and Thailand is bringing the Jutanugarn sisters to the tee. These are likely to be very even contests and I can see Japan and Thailand each collecting a point from the Thursday four-ball matches.

We’ll have three days of four-ball matches before we know which teams will advance to the Sunday singles matches. The two teams with the most points from each pool and one wild-card team will play singles matches. A pre-determined formula will be used to break all ties.

2016 UL International Crown Four-Ball Matches Schedule. Credit: www.lpga.com

The wild-card team will be selected by a sudden-death playoff among countries in third place or tied for third place from each pool. Teams participating in the wild-card playoff will determine two players to represent their country prior to teeing off on the extra holes at the conclusion of the Saturday’s four-ball matches. 

Golf Channel will provide live coverage of the Crown: Thursday, July 21 and Friday, July 22, noon-4pm ET; Saturday, July 23, 3-7pm ET; Sunday, July 24, NBC will provide live coverage noon-2pm ET and Golf Channel will pick up singles match coverage beginning at 2pm ET.

Cover Photo via Instagram