International Crown week is finally upon us. This event that happens every two years is the closest thing women’s golf has to the President’s Cup. Here, eight teams of four will compete in a tournament, each representing a different country. With how strong women’s golf is on a global level, it is always competitive and wildly unpredictable as a different country has won every edition.
No. 8: The Republic of China:
China has a solid, up-and-coming women’s golf culture, but the team just isn’t there quite yet. Obviously, when talking about women’s golf in China, you have to start with superstar Ruoning Yin.
Yin is ranked No. 7 in the world despite not having a good result since the U.S. Women’s Open. Much of that is due to a light schedule, she played exclusively the major championships this summer. She did return in her home country at the Buick LPGA Shanghai last week, notching a top-30 finish. While she doesn’t have much recent form, she is one of the strongest all around players in the world still, particularly with her ball striking.
Yan Liu is the next highest ranked player on the team at No. 107 in the Rolex Rankings. While Liu has made a lot of cuts as of late, she hasn’t quite found that form that she had to start the season, where she had back-to-back top-10 finishes at Chevron and in Utah. Liu has the potential to be a breakout star here, but she is also very inconsistent.
Wei Wei Zhang’s two strong performances at Chevron and in Mexico helped her earn a spot on this team, though there should be some concerns about her form. The last time she finished in the top 50 was in the Scottish Open back in July.
Rounding out the team is Ruixin Liu, who stepped in for Olympic bronze medalist Xiyu Lin who had to miss this event due to her pregnancy. Liu has actually set herself up nicely for a good week in Korea, placing in the top 30 in her last three starts. Unquestionably she is in the best recent form on this team.
China doesn’t have a weak spot necessarily, but it was a victim of some circumstance this season. Losing Xiyu Lin was a big blow to the experience of this team and Miranda Wang broke out after the team was already set. This isn’t a bad team, but it is hard to see a path to victory.
