LPGA Tour makes bombshell ruling on trans golfers in huge change to rules

The LPGA Tour announced a melodramatic alteration successful its sex argumentation Wednesday, having immense repercussions for transgender players. 

Women's play has been embroiled successful contention implicit the past twelvemonth with aggregate professionals pleading with the circuit to change its rulebooks to forestall trans athletes, specified arsenic Hailey Davidson, from competing. 

The LPGA had stood steadfast by its inclusion argumentation for transgender athletes who acquisition country aft antheral puberty, having removed its request for golfers to beryllium 'female astatine birth' successful a argumentation alteration successful 2010.

However, the enactment has performed a U-turn with the updated sex policy, which volition travel into unit successful 2025, present requiring players to beryllium assigned pistillate astatine commencement oregon person transitioned to pistillate earlier going done antheral puberty to vie successful LPGA tournaments oregon the 8 USGA championships for women. 

'Under the caller policy, athletes who are assigned pistillate astatine commencement are eligible to vie connected the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour, and successful each different elite LPGA competitions,' a connection from the circuit read. 

'Players assigned antheral astatine commencement and who person gone done antheral puberty are not eligible to vie successful the aforementioned events.'

Players assigned antheral astatine commencement indispensable beryllium they person not experienced immoderate portion of puberty beyond the archetypal signifier oregon aft property 12, whichever comes first, and past conscionable regulation standards for testosterone levels. 

The LPGA and USGA accidental their policies were geared toward being inclusive of sex identities and look portion striving for equity successful competition.

The LPGA said its moving radical of experts advised that the effects of antheral puberty allowed for competitory advantages successful play compared with players who had not gone done puberty.

'Our argumentation is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,' said LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, who announced Monday that she is resigning successful January. 'The argumentation represents our continued committedness to ensuring that each consciousness invited wrong our organization, portion preserving the fairness and competitory equity of our elite competitions.'

Mike Whan, the erstwhile LPGA commissioner and present CEO of the USGA, said it developed the updated argumentation independently and aboriginal discovered it was akin to those utilized by swimming, way and field, and different sports.

'It starts with competitory fairness arsenic the North star,' Whan said successful a telephone interview. 'We tried not to get into politics, oregon authorities by authorities oregon immoderate of that stuff. We conscionable simply said, 'Where would idiosyncratic - astatine slightest medically contiguous - wherever bash we judge idiosyncratic would person a competitory vantage successful the field?' And we needed to gully a line.

'We needed to beryllium capable to locomotion into immoderate women's lawsuit and accidental with assurance that cipher present has a competitory vantage based connected their gender. And this argumentation delivers that.'

The 'Competitive Fairness Gender Policy' for the USGA takes effect for the 2025 title play that starts with the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball connected May 10-14. Qualifying began precocious this year, though determination were nary transgender players who took part. 

More to follow.