Americans Rebound with Two Wins Friday in International Crown


Team USA got back into the International Crown after recording two victories in Friday's four-ball matches. After getting swept by Taiwan Thursday and recording no points, the Americans won both matches against Spain in the inaugural LPGA Tour team event at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mill, Md.

The Americans - Stacy Lewis, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson - changed their pairings and the improved chemistry was evident. On Thursday, Creamer and Kerr lost 4 and 3 to Candie Kung and Teresa Lu, and Yani Tseng and Phoebe Yao squeaked past Lewis and Thompson 1-up in the second match.

On Day 2, Thompson and Kerr forged a 3 and 2 win over Spaniards Belen Mozo and Beatriz Recari, while Creamer and Lewis edged Azahara Munoz and Carlota Ciganda 2-up.

"Obviously, we made the right decision," Creamer said of the switch in teams. "We felt comfortable."

"I thought Lexi and I had a lot of chemistry out there together," added Kerr. "We played with a lot of heart for each other."

With their four points the top-seeded Americans moved into a tie for second in Pool A with Taiwan - which lost both matches to Thailand, while Spain trails with three.

In Pool B, Japan tacked on another three points - giving it six over two days - for a two-point lead over South Korea. Sweden and Australia both have three.

Japan's Mamiko Higa and Mika Miyazato got past Aussies Minjee Lee, an 18-year-old amateur from Perth, and World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb, 3 and 2, and Ai Miyazato (no relation to Mika) and Sakura Yokomine halved their match with Katherine Kirk and Lindsey Wright.

Higa and Miyazato overcame a 6-up advantage by the Aussies with seven holes to go to remarkably end the match at all-square. Japan won the final three holes to cap their rally. "It feels amazing right now," Miyazato said.

"Until 12 holes, I and Sakura just felt like today was Australia's day. We tried to accept the results, and said that every extra hole is just a bonus."

Kirk said, "It hurts, obviously, but we can't change what happened. But we can certainly learn from it and certainly go out there (Saturday) and try to make amends."

Sweden's Caroline Hedwall and Anna Nordqvist edged South Koreans Inbee Park and So Yeon Ryu 1-up, and Koreans Na Yeon Choi and I.K. Kim beat Pernilla Lindberg and Mikaela Parmlid by the same margin, giving each team a point.

In the other half of the Pool A bracket, Thai sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn beat Taiwanese Kung and Lu 3 and 2, while Pornanong Phatlum and Onnarin Sattayabanphot vanquished Tseng and Yao 1-up.

On Saturday, the final day of better-ball play, the United States will face Thailand and Spain will play Taiwan. In Pool B, Sweden will face Australia, and South Korea will go against Japan.

The tournament format involves three days of four-ball. Each country will play every other country in their bracket in the first three rounds to determine which five countries advance to Sunday's singles matches. All points from the four-ball matches will carry over to Sunday's matches, when each country will play a singles match against every other country. The total cumulative points from the four days of competition will be used to determine the overall International Crown champion.

The International Crown will be held in the off-years from the biennial Solheim Cup, which involves 12-person teams from the USA and Europe.

For all the scores, visit http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/IntlCrown.aspx.