S. Korea splits matches with Chinese Taipei at International Crown

SEOUL, July 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea split its matches with Chinese Taipei on the second day of an LPGA international match play competition.

Kim Sei-young and Ryu So-yeon defeated Yani Tseng and Teresa Lu 4&2 in their fourball competition at the International Crown at Merit Club in Gurnee, Illinois, on Friday (local time).

The other South Korean tandem, Amy Yang and Chun In-gee, fell to Candie Kung and Cheng Ssu-Chia 2&1.

South Korea had also gone 1-1-0 (win-loss-halve) against China on Thursday. A win is worth two points and a halve goes for a point. South Korea is in second place in Pool A with four points, while Chinese Taipei is in first with six points.

Also on Friday, Australia defeated China in one match and halved another to improve to three points in Pool A. China, the eighth and last seed at the tournament that stole a match against the top-seeded South Korea Thursday, also has three points.

In Pool B, England is leading the way with five points, followed by Japan with four, Thailand with four and the United States with three.

South Korea will wrap up pool play against Australia on Saturday. The top-two teams from each of the two pools will advance to Sunday singles. The third-place teams from each pool will meet in a playoff for the fifth and the final spot in Sunday's action.

On Friday, Kim and Ryu opened up a 4-up lead through 11 holes. Lu got one back for Chinese Taipei with a birdie at the par-3 14th, but Kim closed out the match with an eagle at the par-5 16th.

Yang and Chun teamed up for a win on Thursday but couldn't repeat their success Friday, as they missed one key putt after another. Yang's birdie at the par-4 third put South Korea 1-up, but it was the last time the South Koreans led the whole day.

South Korea finished third in the inaugural International Crown in 2014, with Spain taking the title.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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