Seven months ago, transgender golfer Hailey Davidson came within one spot of qualifying for the 79th U.S. Women’s Open, the biggest championship in women’s golf. Davidson posted rounds of 70-73 in the 36-hole qualifier at Bradenton (Florida) Country Club to finish third. Only the top two players advanced, and Davidson was the site’s first alternate.
Under the USGA’s newly released Competitive Fairness Gender Policy, Davidson would be ineligible to compete in the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open. The USGA announced the changes on Wednesday morning at the same time the LPGA released a similarly updated policy that would ban Davidson. In October, Davidson earned Epson Tour status at the tour’s second stage of qualifying.
The USGA’s updated policy states that any transgender athlete who has experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 may not compete in its championships. In the event that it’s not possible to demonstrate whether or not Stage 2 occurred, the athlete must demonstrate that they have not experienced any part of male puberty after age 12.
Transgender females who have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2, which typically occurs between the ages of 9 and 14 years old, must also demonstrate that they have continuously maintained the concentration of testosterone in their serum of less than below 2.5 nmol/L.
While the USGA’s new policy applies to both USGA championships and team events, the organization notes that’s is not meant to apply to recreational or non-elite competitions or league play.
Golf’s new transgender rules are in line with those of World Aquatics and the World Athletics Council, which oversees track and field. In June, transgender swimmer Lia Thomas lost a legal challenge against World Aquatics that argued its policies were discriminatory. In 2022, Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title.
In addition, the USGA introduced female-to-male transition language into its gender policy for the first time at the start of the 2024 season. That policy has been updated to state that transgender males must demonstrate with reasonable satisfaction to the medical panel that they’ve never used exogenous testosterone or any other anabolic androgenic substances.
USGA CEO Mike Whan was at the helm of the LPGA in 2010 when the membership voted to change its female-at-birth requirement in response to a lawsuit. Golfweek caught up with Whan to talk about these latest changes. What follows are excerpts from that conversation: