VENICE, Fla. — Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson kicked off the second stage of LPGA qualifying on Tuesday with a score of 78. This came amidst reports that 275 female golfers have signed a letter urging major golf organizations to reconsider policies that permit biological males to compete against women.
The letter, dated August 19, was disseminated by the Independent Women’s Forum and was sent to the LPGA, the U.S. Golf Association, and the International Golf Federation, just three days prior to the pre-qualifying round of Q-school. Davidson, who narrowly missed the playoff cut during U.S. Women’s Open qualifying this year, managed a tie for 42nd place in the LPGA pre-qualifying event, allowing her to advance to the next stage of competition.
The current regulations of the LPGA permit individuals who have undergone gender reassignment after puberty and meet specific hormone therapy criteria to participate. In August, Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan communicated to LPGA and Epson Tour players that the league would be concluding a review of its participation policy by the end of the year, with any necessary changes to be enacted before the next season.
The second stage of qualifying commenced on Tuesday at the Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida, after a delay of one week due to Hurricane Milton. The top 35 competitors, along with ties, will progress to the final qualifying round, while any player who completes all four rounds will earn limited status on the developmental Epson Tour. Despite her efforts, Davidson’s score of 78 placed her in a tie for 171st out of 194 competitors.
The letter addressed to the LPGA, USGA, and IGF included signatures from both current and former players across various tours. The correspondence emphasized the need for a “clear and consistent participation policy” rooted in a player’s biological sex to ensure the integrity and fairness of women’s golf. It asserted that there are inherent differences between the sexes that impact the sport of golf.
Before her transition, Davidson held a scholarship to play for the men’s team at Wilmington University in Delaware and later transferred to the men’s team at Christopher Newport University in Virginia. Golfweek has reported that she began hormone treatments in 2015 and subsequently underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2021. Earlier this year, Davidson secured a tournament victory and finished as a runner-up three times on the NXXT Golf tour in Florida, which recently adjusted its eligibility criteria to stipulate that all participants must be biological females at birth.
NXXT Golf is not the only small tour to revise its policies; the Cactus Tour in Arizona also announced last month that it would reinstate its requirement for participants to be female at birth.