Spain Sweeps To Victory In International Crown
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) -- Carlota Ciganda breezed to an early victory to set the tone and Spain won all four of its singles matches Sunday to capture the inaugural International Crown.
Sweden finished second in the tournament that began Thursday with 32 players from eight countries. The top-seeded United States was among three teams eliminated Saturday, leaving five countries and 20 players to compete for the trophy.
Fifth-seeded Spain began the final round tied for second behind Japan, but Ciganda immediately gave the Spaniards a boost by beating Na Yeon Choi of South Korea 8 and 6. Beatriz Recari followed with a 3-and-2 victory over Mikaela Parmlid of Sweden, and Belen Mozo clinched the tournament title with a 3-and-2 win over Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand.
That set off an impromptu celebration on the 16th hole that began with a jubilant Recari jumping into the arms of Ciganda.
Azahara Munoz completed the sweep by beating Ai Miyazato of Japan 2 and 1.
Points accumulated through Saturday were added to those amassed Sunday. Using the scoring system of two points for a win and one for a tie, the final order was: Spain (15 points), Sweden (11), South Korea (10), Japan (10), Thailand (9), United States (6), Taiwan (4) and Australia (3).
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)