Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson has furiously hit back after her hopes of competing on the LPGA Tour were ripped away from her this week.
The 31-year-old had hoped to break into the top ranks of women’s professional golf, trying to earn status on the tour over the past year.
She had competed in qualifying for the US Women’s Open before playing in Q-School this fall where she earned status on the Epson Tour – the feeder circuit for the LPGA Tour.
However, Davidson’s potential paths to both tours and the major championship were closed off to her when the LPGA Tour announced a dramatic change to its gender policy Wednesday.
From 2025, players will be required to be assigned female at birth or have transitioned to female before going through male puberty to compete in LPGA tournaments or the eight USGA championships for women.
The tour’s U-turn sparked a fiery response from Davidson, who took to Instagram to slam the situation.
Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson has furiously hit back at the LPGA’s gender policy change
‘Can’t say I didn’t see this coming. Banned from the Epson and LPGA,’ Davidson wrote in an Instagram Stories post. ‘All the silence and people wanting to stay ‘neutral’ thanks for absolutely nothing. This happened because of all your silence.
‘And somehow people are surprised the suicide rate for transgender people is around 50%. Situations just like this are part of the reason.’
The 31-year-old missed qualifying for the US Women’s Open this year by one shot and came up short in LPGA Q-school.
Davidson last competed as a male golfer in 2015, after which, she began hormone therapy treatments and underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2021.
‘What a great birthday present for 2024. Having the greatest achievement I’ve earned in my life taken from me,’ she added.
The LPGA had stood firm by its inclusion policy for transgender athletes who undergo surgery after male puberty, having removed its requirement for golfers to be ‘female at birth’ in a policy change in 2010.
However, the organization has performed a U-turn with the updated gender policy, which will come into force in the New Year.
Players assigned male at birth must prove they have not experienced any part of puberty beyond the first stage or after age 12, whichever comes first, and then meet limitation standards for testosterone levels.
The LPGA Tour (pictured commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan) announced a dramatic change in its gender policy this week, requiring to be assigned female at birth
Davidson, who played NCAA men’s Division II and III golf, is seen in 2015 prior to transitioning
The LPGA and USGA say their policies were geared toward being inclusive of gender identities and expression while striving for equity in competition.
The LPGA said its working group of experts advised that the effects of male puberty allowed for competitive advantages in golf compared with players who had not gone through puberty.
But Davidson slammed the studies, claiming she should have also been consulted as part of the decision process.
‘For the record, I was not involved nor asked to be involved in any of the “studies” that any golf organization has just used to ban me, the only active golfer who is actually effected by these policy changes,’ she wrote in another post.
The tour’s change came after months of pressure from female professionals who wrote to the LPGA, pleading it to take action.
And the decision was championed by players on Wednesday with retired LPGA star Amy Olson telling Dailymail.com that she was ‘thrilled.’
‘I think that the new policy goes a long way to protecting fairness in women’s sports and making sure that women will continue to have the opportunities going forward that women have fought for for a number of years,’ she added.
‘It took a lot of courage by these organizations, but they did the right thing.’
LPGA veteran and Independent Women’s Forum ambassador Amy Olson welcomed the change
Outgoing LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan insisted that the altered policy was founded in science.
‘Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,’ said Marcoux Samaan.
‘The policy represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions.’
Davidson was also banned from competing in tournaments on NXXT Golf – a women’s professional mini tour – earlier this year after winning the Women’s Classic at Mission Inn Resort and Club, an event on the circuit near Orlando, in January.
The victory allowed the Scot to take a step closer to the LPGA with the NXXT awarding its top five players with exemptions to the Epson Tour – a step below the top tier of the women’s game.
However, the circuit then announced on International Women’s Day that it had reversed its gender policy and that, effective immediately, competitors must be a biological female at birth to participate.
