The LPGA announced Tuesday that it has modified the entry requirements for the LPGA Hall of Fame, lifting the 10-year playing requirement. As a result, two-time major champion Lorena Ochoa will be inducted.

In a statement, LPGA Hall of Famer Beth Daniel said that the 10-year rule was originally instituted to keep players on the Tour in order to elevate the sport’s status.

“I think we have seen that the Tour is strong enough now that we don’t need that requirement, so the committee decided to do away with it,” she said. “If you make the Hall of Fame in less than 10 years, more power to you. We shouldn’t keep you out of the Hall of Fame for that reason.”

A player on the Tour from 2003 to 2010, Ochoa won 27 LPGA Tour titles during her career, including the 2007 AIG Women’s Open and the 2008 Chevron Championship. A four-time Rolex Player of the Year (2006-2009), she earned 37 Hall of Fame points during her eight-year career.

Her 158 weeks spent atop the world rankings consecutively remains the LPGA record.

“It was very special to receive Nancy’s call. She is a person I admire a lot,” said Ochoa, who has already been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. “When the call came in, I was in my backyard. It started as a casual conversation, how is my family, my children.

“When she told me I was taken aback, and I was very moved, never imagined. It’s an honor to receive this recognition. It was unexpected and very special to me.”

To qualify for the Hall of Fame, members of the LPGA Tour must meet a minimum threshold of 27 points. They must also have won or been awarded at least an LPGA Tour major championship, the Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honors.

Additionally, the LPGA announced that the eight of the LPGA’s 13 founding members not already enshrined in the Hall of Fame will be inducted. Among them is Shirley Spork, the only remaining founding member to have not been inducted who is still alive. The others are Alice Bauer, Bettye Danoff, Helen Dettweiler, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Sally Sessions and Marilyn Smith.

“Getting into the LPGA Hall of Fame is the highest honor ever in our profession, so I’ve climbed the whole ladder and gotten to the top,” said Spork. “I hope I can sit up on that ladder for a few more years and enjoy it.”

Olympic gold medalists will now earn one Hall of Fame points, meaning that Nelly Korda’s point total will increase to nine through five years on Tour.