Athletes who experienced male puberty will no longer be able to compete on the LPGA or in USGA events designated for women starting in 2025, according to updated transgender policies announced by those organisations on Wednesday. The LPGA and USGA issued their statements on the new rules at the same time.
“The new policy ensures competitive opportunities are provided for athletes playing in USGA women’s competitions without allowing an unfair advantage for athletes who have received the sports performance benefits of male puberty, meaning athletes must be assigned female at birth or have transitioned to female prior to going through male puberty in order to compete,” the USGA said. “Current scientific and medical research shows that sports performance differences exist between biological sexes and such differences begin to occur during the onset of puberty.”
The LPGA said its policy was “developed with input from a broad array of stakeholders and prioritises the competitive integrity of women’s professional tournaments and elite amateur competitions. This working group has advised that the effects of male puberty confer competitive advantages in golf performance compared to players who have not undergone male puberty.”
The new LPGA and USGA policies are similar and require that players whose sex assigned at birth is male must establish to medical panels that they have not experienced any part of male puberty, either beyond Tanner Stage 2 or after age 12 (whichever comes first). They must also maintain a concentration of testosterone in their serum below 2.5 nmol/L.
The issue of transgender athletes in golf and the possible need for updated policies became prominent this year with the competitive rise of Hailey Davidson. Davidson played men’s Division II and Division III college golf at Wlimington University and Christopher Newport University in Virginia. Davidson began transitioning in 2015 and underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2021. In October of this year, Davidson, 30, advanced to the second stage of LPGA Q School, and while not getting an LPGA card, did earn limited status on the developmental Epson Tour.
Under the new policy, Davidson will not be able to compete in the LPGA, Epson and Ladies European Tour, or attempt to qualify for any USGA women’s events.
Hailey Davidson holds first-place trophy she won on the women’s NXXT Tour
“Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,” said LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, who announced this week that she is stepping down from her post in January 2025. “The policy represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organisation, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions.”
In October, Samaan said the LPGA would address the issue by the end of the year after 275 current and former female golfers signed a letter that was sent in August to the LPGA, USGA and International Golf Federation calling for changes in policies that allowed biological males to compete in women’s tournaments.
In an interview with Golfweek, USGA CEO Mike Whan said of the policy changes, “It was all based on competitive fairness as the north star. Right or wrong, let’s be able to look ourselves in the face and any competitor in one our women’s events in the face and say if you’re in this event, nobody has a competitive advantage relative to their gender.”
