Ariya Jutanugarn, a two-time LPGA major champion from Thailand, has pulled out from her team for an upcoming LPGA match-play event in South Korea.
The LPGA announced Friday that Jutanugarn, a 12-time winner on the LPGA Tour, will not be able to compete at the International Crown due to an injury. She was replaced by Jasmine Suwannapura.
Jutanugarn, world No. 16, is the second Thai player to withdraw from the International Crown this month, with Patty Tavatanakit having done the same last week.
Thailand won the previous edition of the International Crown in 2023, with Jutanugarn teaming up with her sister, Moriya, Tavatanakit and Jeeno Thitikul to beat Australia in the final. Ariya had played in each of the first four editions of the International Crown.
This year's International Crown will be played at New Korea Country Club in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, from Oct. 23 to 26. Seven countries -- South Korea, the United States, Japan, Thailand, Sweden, Australia and China -- and the brand-new Team World will be in action, to be represented by four players each. Team World will be made up of one player each from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa and Oceania.
The countries' seeds were determined based on their players' world ranking positions as of Aug. 4 and will not change regardless of the latest lineup change. The US will be the top seed, followed by Japan and South Korea.
South Korea will feature Kim Hyo-joo, Ryu Hae-ran, Ko Jin-young and Choi Hye-jin. Kim, Ko and Choi were teammates on the 2023 team that finished tied for fifth, while Ryu has never played at an International Crown.
The first four editions of the International Crown produced four different champions -- Spain in 2014, the US in 2016, South Korea as the host nation in 2018 and Thailand in 2023. The 2020 event was wiped out due to COVID-19.
Teams seeded 1, 4, 5 and 8 will be in Pool A, and seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7 will compete in Pool B. After fourball matches from Oct. 23 to 25, the top two teams from each pool will move on to the semifinals scheduled for the morning of Oct. 26, with the two pool winners each playing the runners-up from the opposing pool in two singles matches and one foursome match. The final is set for the afternoon of the same day, taking the same format as the semifinals. (Yonhap)
