Golfer Hailey Davidson is on the cusp of becoming the first transgender golfer to earn a tour card for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) after a recent strong showing during the first rounds of the LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying School in Palm Springs.
LPGA’s rules state that any player who shoots under 88 after all three rounds earns 2023 Epson Tour Status and officially qualifies for the LPGA tour.
Davidson earned a scholarship to play on the men’s team at Wilmington University in Delaware, ultimately transferring to the men’s team at Christopher Newport in Virginia.
Competing against 310 other women, Davidson is tied at 59th place and appears to be in a good position to pass the first stage and move onto Stage II in October against the top 100 players.
The LPGA Tour had removed its ‘female at birth’ requirement back in 2010.
Davidson last competed as a male golfer in 2015, after which, she began hormone therapy treatments and underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2021.
‘I know I have what it takes from being around professional golfers on the LPGA/PGA/Champions Tour over the recent years and staying very competitive with them all,’ Davidson said in 2021 while trying to fundraise for qualifying school.
‘While I know that I have the talent and mental game to make a career out of playing, the initial cost of tournaments and practice expenses is what truly holds me back.’
While failing to make qualifiers that year, Davidson stayed competitive in other tournaments, ending one match just three shots behind 2010 U.S. Women’s Open champ Paula Creamer.
The majority of Davidson’s time has been spent competing on the East Coast Women’s Pro Golf Tour, winning three of the last five matches before the summer qualifiers.
The Gateway Pundit reported on Davidson’s plans to join the LPGA after winning a professional title in 2021.
Florida Today reported on the transgender athlete saying: “In January, Davidson underwent gender reassignment surgery, a six-hour procedure. She’s been undergoing hormone treatments since Sept. 24, 2015, a date that’s tattooed on her right forearm.”
It added that earlier this year, the USGA changed its Gender Policy to shorten the length of time transgender athletes had to wait to compete.
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