Two Major Golf Associations Ban Female Transgender Players
A new policy prohibits athletes who have undergone "male puberty" from competing in anything but "open events."
Two major golf associations have banned transgender women from participating in elite competitions.
Last week, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) announced that beginning with the 2025 season, players who have undergone male puberty will no longer be eligible to compete on the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour, and in all other elite LPGA competitions.
Transgender women who have undergone male puberty prior to transitioning may still be allowed to compete in “open events,” such as recreational programs and non-elite events open to people regardless of assigned sex at birth.
A slimmer minority of transgender women who did not undergo male puberty, such as those who started puberty blockers before age 12, may be eligible to compete under the LPGA guidelines.
However, such athletes must provide documentation to prove to a medical manager and a panel of experts that they have not undergone male puberty, are receiving hormone therapy, and have continuously maintained the concentration of testosterone in their serum below 2.5 nanomoles per liter throughout the time period when they’ve been seeking to compete.
The LPGA claims its new gender policy has been “informed by a working group of top experts in medicine, science, sport physiology, golf performance and gender policy law” and developed “with input from a broad array of stakeholders.”
“Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,” LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said in a statement defending the new policy, which “represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Golf Association (USGA) announced an identical policy restricting eligibility in elite-level competitions to athletes who were assigned female at birth and transgender athletes who never progressed beyond Tanner Stage 2 in their development.
Mike Whan, the CEO of the USGA and a former LPGA commissioner, told The Associated Press that the policy is aimed to achieve “competitive fairness.”
“We tried not to get into politics, or state by state or any of that stuff,” he said. “We just simply said, ‘Where would somebody — at least medically today — where do we believe somebody would have a competitive advantage in the field?’ And we needed to draw a line. We needed to be able to walk into any women’s event and say with confidence that nobody here has a competitive advantage based on their gender. And this policy delivers that.”
Hailey Davidson, a transgender professional golfer, said she wasn’t surprised by the new policies, which make her ineligible to compete.
“Can’t say I didn’t see this coming,” Davidson wrote on Instagram. “Banned from the Epson and the LPGA. All the silence and people wanting to stay ‘neutral’ thanks for absolutely nothing. This happened because of all your silence.”
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