Trans women who have gone through male puberty will not be allowed to compete on leading women’s golf tours from next year, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has announced.
Updated rules on gender policy will also apply to United States Golf Association (USGA) events including the US Women’s Open and will prevent trans golfer Hailey Davidson from seeking membership of the LPGA Tour.
The announcement is a U-turn from LPGA, which had stood firm by its inclusion policy for trans golfers 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 organisation has performed a U-turn with the updated gender policy, which will come into force in 2025, now requiring players 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.
‘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 in all other elite LPGA competitions,’ a statement from the tour read.
‘Players assigned male at birth and who have gone through male puberty are not eligible to compete in the aforementioned events.’
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 updated policies would rule out eligibility for Davidson, who has been trying to earn her professional status on the women’s tour.
