“I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. » Hailey Davidson will no longer be able to play on the LPGA Tour. The American transgender golfer, who had won her place to play in 2025 on the Epson secondary circuit, was banned, as for other transgender golfers, from any participation in tournaments on the American women’s circuit.
“Under the new policy, athletes who are assigned female at birth are eligible to compete on the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour and all other elite LPGA competitions. Players assigned male at birth and who have gone through male puberty are not eligible to participate in the aforementioned events,” the LPGA governing body said in a statement.
“Exceptions” on a case-by-case basis
The LPGA believes that “the effects of male puberty confer a competitive advantage in golf over other female players.” More than 200 professional players expressed concerns earlier this year in a letter to the authorities about the circuit’s gender policy, fearing a lack of equality between participants.
The LPGA Tour still leaves a door open if the player has not derived a “continued benefit for performance” from her transition. In detail, a player who has made the transition who would like to participate in a competition will have to convince a “medical director” and a “panel of experts” that she has not experienced male puberty beyond a certain degree. and that she has maintained a testosterone level below 2.5 nanomoles per liter since her transition.
