No. 2 – Australia
To borrow a cliché that is way overused, you can throw out the records when it comes to Australia. Thanks mostly to LPGA Hall of Famer Karrie Webb, there is no group of players closer, that play with more chemistry, than the Australians. They proved that in 2023 despite having the No. 7 seed entering the week. They made it all the way to the end against Thailand. They return three players off that team as well.
Australia, of course, is led by Minjee Lee, the second highest ranked player in this field at No. 3 in the world. It has been a great comeback season for Lee, winning her third major, making 19/20 cuts, grabbing eight top-10 finishes and five top-threes. Lee’s putting has been phenomenal, and when she is on her game, she is among the best ball strikers in the world. Lee is No. 2 in the CME Standings and Player of the Year standings, and enters in fantastic form. Since the Meijer LPGA Classic on father’s day, Lee has made every cut and finished outside the top 20 just once.
Next up is Hannah Green, a six-time LPGA Tour winner who hasn’t had a great follow-up season to her three-win 2024, but showed some signs of great form last week at the BMW Ladies Championship. Green at one point this season was ranked No. 5 in the world, but has slipped to No. 18. Before last week, she had missed five out of six cuts, and hadn’t had a top-10 finish since early in the season at the JM Eagle. She bounced back in a big way last week though with a top-five finish, which should be a big momentum boost.
Grace Kim is the lone first-time player on this team after narrowly missing the cut in 2023. Kim has had a nice little breakout year, winning her first major championship in thrilling fashion at the Evian Championship. She has also had two additional top-10 finishes and a near win on the Ladies European Tour. She should be a great addition to this Australian team.
Finally, we have Stephanie Kyriacou, coming into this 2025 International Crown with a lot more experience. Kyriacou is one of the best young players in the world without a win, and has played well as of late. Kyriacou has three top-15 finishes since the Evian Championship, including a top-10 last week at the BMW Ladies Championship. Kyriacou went 3-1 in her first International Crown, and her lone loss came on a 1-on-1 matchup with Jeeno Thitikul.
This Australian team might not be as strong on paper as some of the other teams, but it certainly makes up for it in chemistry, which is so important in these formats.
