The Ladies Pro Golf Association (LPGA) unexpectedly updated its gender-eligibility policy on Wednesday and formally barred most transgender players from joining the LPGA Tour.
The group revealed that in the future, it will bar any person born male who went through puberty before “transitioning” to a female. This bars most transgender athletes because very few will have “transitioned” before they go through puberty.
Fox News reports that the ban will affect players on the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour, and all other elite LPGA competitions.
“Players assigned male at birth and who have gone through male puberty are not eligible to compete in the aforementioned events,” the LPGA Tour said in a statement on Wednesday. “The policies governing the LPGA’s recreational programs and non-elite events utilize different criteria to provide opportunities for participation in the broader LPGA community.”
“Golf offers opportunities for all athletes to compete at professional and elite amateur levels,” the LPGA Tour said. “Individual competitions are generally categorized as ‘women’s events,’ which have specific eligibility requirements, or ‘open events,’ where any player, regardless of sex, is eligible to compete.”
LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, who is stepping down soon, insisted that the ban is based on science.
“Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based, and inclusive approach,” said Marcoux Samaan. “The policy represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions.”
The policy change comes amid a shakeup of the LPGA’s leadership. Marcoux Samaan abruptly announced that she is stepping down from leadership of the organization, putting Liz Moore as the head of the group temporarily starting in January. Marcoux Samaan had recently faced criticism for not seeing the rise of women’s sports over the last year, not to mention the transgender issue.
The shakeup comes as a group of LPGA present and past pros organized a letter to the organization to urge the LPGA to ban male-born athletes from competing as women in the wake of the quick rise of transgender golfer Hailey Davidson.
Davidson had overcome his opposition to earning an LPGA membership card, but by March, the NXXT Pro Women’s Tour had halted his progress and denied his ability to participate as it contemplated the issue of trans members.
The LPGA, though, only brought the problem on itself when in 2010 it dumped its “born female” rule, opening the door for people such as Davidson to make a play for membership.
Davidson has been climbing the ranks and knocking out female competitors at least since 2021 in an effort to become an LPGA Tour pro. He has become a lightning rod for the issue while accusing detractors of being “haters” and “misinformed” about transgenderism.
Meanwhile, several pros and past pros have urged the LPGA to exclude participants such as Davidson.
“My hope is the next LPGA commissioner has the courage and boldness to do what is best for not only its current members but the future of women’s golf through emphasizing fairness by keeping women’s golf female!” said pro golfer Lauren Mille in a recent press release from the Independent Women’s Forum.
Pro golfer Hannah Arnold agreed, saying, “We need leadership who emphasizes player first and tour second. Naturally, it’s the ladies’ professional golf tour for a reason. It’s our responsibility to hold leadership accountable to the players. I’m hoping the tour leads with a player-first mentality going forward.”
The announced change to the LPGA policy is now set to begin for the coming golf season.
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