As many as 275 women golfers sent a letter to the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) expressing concern over a transgender player competing in the Qualifying Series.
“A total of 246 players will be competing in this week’s LPGA Qualifying Series in hopes of punching their ticket into December’s final stage of qualifying school (Q-School) to earn an opportunity to earn an LPGA card,” Outkick reported. “Among the 246-player field is transgender golfer Hailey Davidson, whose inclusion may align with LPGA’s current gender policy, but not with the vast majority of fellow competitors.”
Davidson advanced through the pre-qualifying stage of Q-School after tying for 42nd in August despite 275 women players sending a letter expressing concern to the LPGA, United States Golf Association (USGA), and the International Golf Federation (IGF). The letter was dated August 19. Davidson was still allowed to compete under the new policies that say a biological man can compete with biological women if they have transitioned surgically and meet hormonal therapy requirements.
The letter pointed out that hormonal deficiencies and gender surgery are not enough to erase a biological male’s advantage over a woman.
“We all know there can be no equal athletic opportunity for women without a separate female golf category. Yet, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) continues to propagate a policy that allows male athletes to qualify, compete, and win in women’s golf, even as several national and international governing bodies of sport and state legislatures increasingly reject these unjust and inequitable policies that harm female athletes,” the letter read.
“LPGA policy does not explicitly state eligibility based on sex. It is essential for the integrity and fairness of women’s golf to have a clear and consistent participation policy in place based on a player’s immutable sex. There are differences between the sexes—female and male—that specifically affect our sport of golf,” it continued.
“The male advantage in driving the ball is estimated around a 30% performance advantage; this is an enormous difference in the context of sport. Anatomical differences between males and females affect clubhead speed and regulating consistency at ball contact. Females have higher mean heart rates and encounter greater physiological demands while playing, especially at high altitudes. The anatomical differences are not removed with male testosterone suppression. There is no way to turn a male into a female. Being female is not equated to being male with a reduction in strength.”