Hundreds of female golfers have complained about Scottish-born transgender player Hailey Davidson’s participation in the penultimate leg of the LPGA Tour qualifying event.
Davidson, a 31-year-old professional originally from Ayrshire but now based in Florida, has said her aim is to “make Scotland proud” by earning a card on the women’s circuit.
But after completing the first phase of Q-School in August, the former US male university team player was accused of ‘dishonest’ conduct, with two-time Major runner-up Amy Olson railing against Davidson’s was allowed to participate. “These women have worked too hard and too long to have to watch a man compete for and take their place,” she said.
It has now emerged that many in the field held this view, with the International Women’s Forum revealing that 275 people signed the letter sent to the LPGA, the US Golf Association and the International Golf Federation urging Davidson’s removal from the tournament.
‘Male advantage in driving estimated at around 30 percent’
“We all know that there cannot be equal athletic opportunities for women without a separate female golf category,” the letter said, as reported by sports website OutKick. “Yet the Ladies Professional Golf Association continues to promote policies that enable male athletes to qualify, compete and win in women’s golf, even as various national and international sports and state legislatures increasingly challenge these unjust and unjust policies that harm women reject. athletes.
“The LPGA policy does not explicitly state eligibility based on gender. It is essential for the integrity and fairness of women’s golf that there is a clear and consistent participation policy, based on the unchangeable gender of the player. There are differences between the genders – female and male – that specifically affect our sport of golf.
“The male advantage in ball control is estimated at approximately 30 percent performance advantage; this is a huge difference in the context of sports. Anatomical differences between men and women influence clubhead speed and regulate ball contact consistency.
“Females have a higher average heart rate and face greater physiological demands during play, especially at high altitudes. The anatomical differences are not eliminated with male testosterone suppression. There is no way to make a man a woman. Being a woman is not the same as being a man with a reduction in strength.”
The LPGA considers male golfers eligible if they have undergone gender reassignment surgery and met the requirements for hormonal therapy. Davidson meets these requirements after reportedly undergoing gender reassignment surgery in 2021.
Davidson, who nearly qualified for the US Women’s Open in June, remained unapologetic and instead lashed out at opponents. “I will never understand athletes who blame a transgender competitor for their own athletic failures,” Davidson wrote on Instagram. “If you don’t take responsibility for your failures, you’ll never be good enough to make it.”
With 195 players on the tee, and only those finishing in the top 35 and tied will advance to the final qualifier in December, it’s a tough ask, although Davidson only has to complete the 72 holes in Venice, Florida to secure status on the Epson list. Tour, the LPGA’s premier feeder competition.
Mimi Rhodes, former winner of the Justin Rose Junior Telegraph Championship and hero of last month’s Curtis Cup, is also in the hunt at Plantation Country Club.
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