Hundreds of female golfers have signed a letter complaining about the participation of Scottish born transgender player Hailey Davidson in the penultimate stage of the LPGA Tour’s Q-School where Sara Byrne and Lauren Walsh are competing.
The 31-year-old who resides in Florida progressed through the First Stage in August prompting former LPGA Tour player Amy Olson to take to social media to voice her disgust. “These women have worked too hard and too long to have to stand by and watch a man compete for and take their spot,” she said.
Davidson who is a former male collegiate player in the United States has vowed to make her native Scotland proud by earning a LPGA Tour card but it has emerged she faces serious opposition.
The International Women’s Forum has revealed that 275 female golfers have signed a letter sent to the LPGA, USGA and IGF demanding Davidson’s removal from the penultimate stage of Q-School.
“We all know there can be no equal athletic opportunity for women without a separate female golf category,” the letter, as reported by OutKick, read. “Yet, the Ladies Professional Golf Association 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.
“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.
“The male advantage in driving the ball is estimated around a 30 per cent 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.”
Davidson has not made the best start to the tournament this week, carding a six-over 78 in Florida. Davidson almost qualified for the US Women’s Open in June and can earn status on the Epson Tour – women’s second tier in America – should she compete all 72 holes. She must finish inside the top-35 and ties to advanced to LPGA Final Qualifying in December.
Davidson has remained unapologetic and has continued to lash out at her critics: “I will never understand athletes who blame a transgender competitor on their own athletic failures,” Davidson wrote on Instagram. “If you don’t take accountability for your failures then you will never actually be good enough to make it.”
The LPGA deems male born golfers eligible if they have undergone gender reassignment surgery and met hormonal therapy requirements. Davidson reportedly had gender reassignment surgery in 2021 and meets the criteria required.