Female athletes are among those who reacted to the news that the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour has announced a major change to its eligibility rules when it comes to transgender-identifying male players.
Former collegiate female swimmer and outspoken advocate for women’s sports Riley Gaines wrote on X on Wednesday that “The ‘L’ in LPGA means something again!” after the LPGA “updated their gender eligibility requirements to ban men from women’s golf.” Her post included that the group found “the effects of male puberty confer competitive advantages in golf performance compared to players who have not undergone male puberty.”
The legislative strategist for the women’s group, Concerned Women for America, Macy Petty, wrote, “BREAKING: LPGA changes their gender policy, ‘Players assigned male at birth and who have gone through male puberty are not eligible to compete in the [women’s] events.’ HUGE step in keeping women’s sports for women.”
BREAKING: LPGA has updated their gender eligibility requirements to ban men from women’s golf.
“The effects of male puberty confer competitive advantages in golf performance compared to players who have not undergone male puberty.”
The “L” in LPGA means something again!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/aiYXzcQrZp
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) December 4, 2024
Veteran female golfer, Amy Olsen, called the ruling “a positive step forward” that the LPGA recognized “that an individual’s chromosomes affect their physical development in ways that are irreversible.”
Starting in 2025, “under the new policy, athletes who are assigned female at birth are eligible to compete on the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour, and in all other elite LPGA competitions,” the statement read, noting that “players assigned male at birth and who have gone through male puberty are not eligible…”
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“Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,” LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said. “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 move comes after transgender-identifying male golfer Hailey Davidson had competed on the NXXT Tour before the group changed its rules and he was removed, Fox News noted.
The move on Wednesday now cuts off Davidson’s possible path to the tour or Epson Tours after competing in Q School in the fall as the player inched closer to qualifying for an LPGA Tour card.
Davidson, who formerly played on a men’s collegiate golf team, took to Instagram and slammed the gender eligibility rule change, as previously reported.