INCHEON (Yonhap News) ― South Korean LPGA stars said Thursday they’re looking forward to a new opportunity next year to represent their country at an inaugural international competition.

The LPGA Tour earlier this year unveiled plans to stage the International Crown, a new global event featuring four golfers each from eight countries. The match play event, with three days of four-ball matches and one day of singles, will be held at Caves Valley Golf Club, outside Baltimore, Maryland in July next year.

The four highest-ranked players for each country will enter the International Crown, and the representatives will be determined by their rankings after the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship next April.

As of this week, South Korea featured four players inside the top 10 in the world rankings, led by No. 1 Park In-bee. Ryu So-yeon is at No. 4, followed by Choi Na-yeon at sixth and Kim In-kyung at No. 10, making the country, on paper, the strongest contender.

The LPGA Tour has long had the Solheim Cup as its featured international event, but because it is only for Americans and Europeans, the biennial event has often left out the best players in women’s golf from South Korea, Australia and Taiwan.

Ahead of the LPGA KEB-HanaBank Championship set to start Friday here in Incheon, top South Koreans said they can’t wait to be part of the new global event.

“I think it will be a great opportunity for all the other countries, because the Solheim Cup is only for Europe and the U.S.,” Park said. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of something global. It’s a different format and should be great practice for the 2016 Olympic Games.”

Ryu, the 2012 LPGA Rookie of the Year, said she’s glad women’s golf finally has its equivalent of international events in other sports.

“I always wanted to represent my country,” Ryu said.

“Soccer has the World Cup. Baseball has the World Baseball Classic. (The International Crown) can be a festival for the LPGA and our fans.”