Report: Transgender Golfer Faces Potential Ban Amid LPGA Tour Policy Review
Hailey Davidson may be banned from competing on next season's Epson Tour despite earning status on the developmental circuit via the second stage of LPGA Q-Series


Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson has earned Epson Tour status for 2025 after finishing T95 in the second stage of the LPGA Q-Series following a final round of 72 at Florida’s Plantation Golf and Country Club.
However, her joy may be short-lived after it was reported that the LGPA Tour is reviewing whether to ban male-born golfers from competing in events in its pyramid.
Per The Telegraph’s golf correspondent James Corrigan, LPGA Tour Mollie Marcoux has confirmed a review is ongoing with the outcome expected by the end of the year and any changes coming into force before next season.
That follows a letter sent to the LPGA, USGA and IGF in August and signed by 275 professionals urging a ban on male-born golfers from women’s competitions.
The 31-year-old entered Q-Series hoping to become the first transgender golfer to earn an LPGA Tour card. To do so, she would have needed to have reached December’s final qualifying stage, which will be held at Magnolia Grove Golf Club in Alabama.
She had given herself a chance entering Friday’s final round despite a six-over 78 to begin her challenge. She recovered well with rounds of 69 and 71 before her even-par final round saw her fall six short of the cut-off, with the top 35 and ties advancing.
While she missed out on that goal, as things stand, she is eligible for the developmental tour next year, albeit with limited status, pending the outcome of the review.
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The news bears similarities with a decision made by NXXT Golf earlier in the year, where Davidson had been competing.
She won her first all-women's event in January at the NXXT Women’s Classic in Florida, but the achievement prompted the mini-tour to survey members on its gender policy and ask Davidson to "undergo additional testosterone testing". In March, it updated its gender guidance to require all competitors to be female at birth, thus excluding the Scot.
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That inspired an emotional response from Davidson on Instagram, who called the decision a "slap in the face to all female athletes."
She added: “Effective immediately, I have been removed (banned) from the next 3 NXXT tournaments that I had already signed up for and been approved to play.”
For now, Davidson faces a waiting game to see if she will be able to take her place on the Epson Tour. Following her final round in Florida, she refused to comment.
Players who progressed to the final stage of Q-Series included Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup stars Mimi Rhodes and Sara Byrne, who both turned professional in September.
Rhodes finished T1 with Adela Cernousek at the event, with Byrne finishing T6.
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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