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Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson competes in US Women's Open qualifier, forcing female pro to speak out: 'Not a backup option for mediocre male athletes'
Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson clinched a first alternate spot for the US Women's Open, sparking backlash from a female professional.
Davidson, 30, narrowly missed out on automatically qualifying for the Women's US Open by one stroke earlier this month but still has a chance to compete at the major championship after securing the place of first alternate.
Davidson, who was born in Scotland, finished in a three-way tie for third in a 36-hole qualifier at Bradenton Country Club.
She birdied the opening playoff hole to claim the first alternate spot ahead of two-time LPGA Tour winner Jasmine Suwannapura, who earned second alternate, and professional Louise Olsson Campbell.
Should enough players withdraw, Davidson will fill a spot at the 2024 US Women's Open, which will be played at the Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania from May 30 to June 2.
Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson clinched a first alternate spot for the US Women's Open
She shared a photo of the USGA alternate instructions, writing on social media: 'So you’re telling me there’s a chance!!'
One of the 55 female golfers who competed in the qualifier in Florida claimed the decision to allow Davidson to compete in qualifying and potentially have a shot at the US Open was unjust.
'It is not fair,' the player told OutKick's Mark Harris when asked if she believes it is fair for trans golfers to compete in women's events.
'There's not any other way to explain it [other] than if you neuter a male dog, it's still a male dog. We never call them [a] female dog.
'I believe if transgender golf is getting more attention, aka popular, then let's do [a] trans open for them.'
The player, who wished to remain anonymous, recalled one moment from the qualifying event when Davidson holed out from 40 feet off the green and celebrated by saying, 'f*** yeah,' in the 'lowest male tone' she had heard all day.
'Everyone was in shock and not a single person clapped,' the female player said.
The LPGA's gender policy, which also applies to the Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour, LET Access Series and LPGA Professionals competitions, still permits trans-women to compete.
Davidson, who is originally from Scotland, shared a photo of the USGA alternate instructions
She urged her fans to 'never give up' in the caption of her Instagram post last week
She birdied the opening playoff hole to claim the alternate spot after a three-way tie for third
The LPGA Tour, which removed its requirement for golfers to be 'female at birth' in 2010, requires players to submit a written declaration stating that they identify as female, proof of gender reassignment surgery, and evidence of at least one year of hormonal therapy maintaining testosterone levels at a specified range.
The USGA has also adopted a policy that allows for biological male golfers to compete against biological females if they have undergone gender reassignment surgery and met hormone therapy requirements.
'In consultation with relevant medical, sports science and legal experts, we're continuing to review our current [gender] policy,' JD Sherba, the LPGA's director of public relations and executive communications, said in a statement provided to Outkick.
But the anonymous female player hit back at both the LPGA and the USGA over their policies.
'I am not in agreement with the LPGA and USGA. [I am] more worried about the future of daughters everywhere,' the player stated.
'Every woman on the tour is working so hard to be on the tour and play golf for [a] living. Women's sports are not a backup option for mediocre male athletes.'
Davidson had played on the NXXT - a women's professional mini tour in Florida - and won the Women's Classic at Mission Inn Resort and Club, an event on the circuit near Orlando in January.
The victory allowed the Scot to take a step closer to the LPGA with the NXXT awarding its top five players with exemptions to the Epson Tour - a step below the top tier of the women's game.
The LPGA's gender policy still permits trans-women to compete (Pictured: commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan)
Davidson is seen in 2015, prior to transitioning
News of the win sparked anger online, with many highlighting how Davidson would likely be able to hit the ball further than a player born female, leading to a U-turn from the NXXT.
The tour announced on International Women's Day that it had reversed its gender policy and that, effective immediately, competitors must be a biological female at birth to participate.
Davidson last competed on the NXXT at the Royal St. Cloud Women's Championship in February, where she finished tied-24 with a score of ten-over for the tournament.
At the time, her one win and two second-place finishes through nine events left her sitting second in the Road to the Epson Tour standings.
Since being unable to compete over the past two and a half months, Davidson has slipped to fourth - 200 points ahead of Lauren Peter in fifth.
The top five earners on the NXXT points list will earn two exemptions into fields on the Epson Tour, the developmental feeder tour for the LPGA.
Before its about-face, the NXXT declared in January that it would be requesting her to undergo 'additional testing' in response to the initial backlash towards Davidson's win.
The move came despite her insistence that she no longer has any physiological advantages over her cisgender competitors.
She says that she no longer has any physiological advantages over her cisgender competitors
At the time, Davidson had openly accepted the new regulations, while still maintaining that she possessed no edge over her biological female rivals after almost a decade of taking hormones.
'I win and people freak out. I play well and the whole world ends and 'Oh, I'm destroying women's golf now!' and all this other stuff,' she told Sky Sports.
'I recognize that I did have an unfair advantage a few years ago. I've been transitioning now for nine years, I've been on hormones for almost nine years. I had surgery coming up on three years exactly. I've lost almost 50mph on swing speed.'
She added: 'Trans athletes shouldn't be banned, but at the same time, there needs to be regulations in place because it shouldn't just be a free for all.
'I think with so many topics, we as a society just need to sit down and listen to each other rather than scream at each other and put hatred on it.
'I think we forget that people are actually humans at the same time.'
The NXXT also rolled out an anonymous poll among its players to gather their opinions on the tour's gender policy, the results of which had not been made public.
Davidson last competed as a male golfer in 2015, after which, she began hormone therapy treatments and underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2021.
Davidson last competed as a male golfer in 2015, after which, she began hormone treatments
The issue took center stage in 2022 with UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas, pictured, who began competing in women's collegiate swimming a 18 months after transitioning setting records
While failing to make qualifiers that particular year, Davidson stayed competitive in other tournaments, ending one match just three shots behind 2010 US Women's Open champ Paula Creamer.
Although professional bodies like the LPGA and PGA set up their own rules and regulations many years ago, more recently debates have erupted across the country over athletes competing in high school and college.
The issue took center stage in 2022 with UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas, who began competing in women's collegiate swimming a year and a half after transitioning.
Thomas went on to break several women's records, much to the dismay of several of her teammates, and the NCAA and US Swimming bodies were criticized for allowing Thomas to compete.