South Korean female golfers will no longer be forced to play on the domestic tour before joining an overseas circuit.

The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association announced Thursday that it has scrapped a rule that made it mandatory for its members to play at least two years in South Korea before trying to reach a foreign tour.

The rule had been in place since 2003 to prevent an exodus of star players and to ensure that the local tour would have good young talent.

Players who violated this clause and entered a foreign tournament or signed up for a qualifying tournament received a 24-month suspension from all KLPGA events and were fined 10 million won.

However, the restriction increasingly became moot because players began to receive invitations to foreign tour events and they often earned their overseas memberships by winning those tournaments or making enough money in multiple appearances to earn overseas playing privileges the following season.

The KLPGA has been thriving in recent seasons thanks to some emerging young talent, and some who struggled to find their footing in the U.S. or Japan have come back to the KLPGA to play full-time here.

Among the current group of LPGA stars are Choi Na-yeon, ranked No. 4 in the world, and Shin Ji-yai, a two-time LPGA major champion currently at No. 7.

Shin won the KLPGA money titles and the Player of the Year honors from 2006 to 2008 and then won the LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year award in 2009.

Seo Hee-kyung and Ryu So-yeon, the LPGA Tour’s top rookies in 2011 and 2012, respectively, both excelled on the domestic tour before going to the U.S.

Seo and Ryu were first and second on the KLPGA money list and also in the points race for the KLPGA Player of the Year honors in 2009. (Yonhap News)