The Americans dominated pool play while the World Team’s debut turned heads at the International Crown.

Team USA cruised through pool play without dropping a single match, clinching their semifinals spot before Saturday’s final round even began. Lauren Coughlin and Lilia Vu hammered out a 5 and 4 victory over Australia’s Hannah Green and Grace Kim on Saturday, matching the week’s largest margin of victory. The Americans were firing on all cylinders, and it showed.

Coughlin kept it simple after the round: “We ham-and-egged it really well again today. Traded birdies pretty much all day. Hannah and Grace played really well, but we were able to just put the pedal down all day.” That’s the kind of confidence that wins team events. When you’re making birdies at will and your partner’s got your back, you’re tough to beat.

The Aussies Sneak In With Drama

Australia needed a halve in their final match to advance, and Steph Kyriacou delivered the clutch moment—draining a birdie putt on 18 to split the points with Americans Yealimi Noh and Angel Yin. Kyriacou admitted it was nerve-wracking: “I think Michael, my caddie, said we had like 10-under, better ball, and we halved the match. It was some really good golf out there. To hole that putt I knew it was important.”

That’s pressure golf right there. You know what you need, and you execute. Australia scraped through, but they’re in—and that’s all that matters in match play.

World Team Makes Historic Statement

Here’s the storyline that caught everyone’s attention: the debut of a World Team, featuring players from countries that didn’t qualify on their own. Canada’s Brooke Henderson and Taiwan’s Wei-Ling Hsu beat Sweden 4 and 3 to punch the World Team’s ticket to the semis. Henderson was emotional about the opportunity: “I’ve been waiting a long time for the World team to come true, and I am just so grateful to be a part of this team.”

This team includes heavyweights like New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and England’s Charley Hull. They proved they belong, and now they’ll face Australia while USA takes on Japan in Sunday’s semifinals.

What Is The International Crown, Anyway?

The International Crown is a biennial match play event where eight teams of four players compete for their countries. Think of it as golf’s version of the Olympics, but with a twist. Teams are determined by the combined world rankings of each country’s top four players.

The format is pure team golf: four-ball (best ball) matches for the first three days in pool play, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to Sunday’s semifinals. Each semifinal features two singles matches and one foursomes (alternate shot) match. Winners meet in the final with the same format. It’s intense, it’s strategic, and it brings out a different side of these players than we see in regular stroke play events.

Sunday’s Semifinal Matchups

Japan squares off against the undefeated United States, while the World Team challenges Australia. The Americans look unstoppable, but Japan’s no pushover with players like Miyu Yamashita and Mao Saigo playing solid golf all week.

The beauty of match play? None of that pool play dominance matters now. It’s match play. Anything can happen when it’s mano-a-mano, and that’s what makes Sunday must-watch golf.