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Korea squeaks into final stage of International Crown Tournament

July 27, 2014

Defeats the U.S. in sudden death playoff to take the final spot

Na Yeon Choi, left, and I.K. Kim, both of South Korea, celebrate a birdie on the first hole during the third round of the International Crown golf tournament Saturday, July 26, 2014, in Owings Mills, Md.(AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Na Yeon Choi, left, and I.K. Kim, both of South Korea, celebrate a birdie on the first hole during the third round of the International Crown golf tournament Saturday, July 26, 2014, in Owings Mills, Md.(AP Photo/Gail Burton)

South Korea squeaked into the final stage of an inaugural international competition on the LPGA Tour on Saturday, beating the United States in a playoff for the final spot on the third day of the competition in Maryland.

In the sudden death wild card showdown at the International Crown on Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, a suburb of Baltimore, the team of Park In-bee and Ryu So-yeon defeated Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson of the U.S., knocking down the top-seeded country once favored to win the event’s first edition on home soil.

Japan leads all teams with 8 points and will be the No. 1 seed for Sunday’s singles matches.

Three teams sit tied with 7 total points apiece (Spain, Thailand, Sweden). Spain earns the No. 2 seed for Sunday, having defeated Thailand in their head-to-head competition on Saturday. Thailand takes the No. 3 seed having been the higher seed than Sweden entering the tournament.

Sweden will be No. 4, followed by Korea, in Sunday’s singles contest.