The LPGA and U.S. Golf Association have announced changes to their transgender policies, effective for the 2025 season. The policies, which were announced in tandem on Wednesday, prohibit athletes who have experienced male puberty from competing in women’s events.
Hailey Davidson, a transgender athlete who competed in the second stage of LPGA Qualifying in October, fell short of an LPGA card but did earn limited Epson Tour status for 2025. She became the second transgender golfer to earn status on the developmental circuit. Bobbi Lancaster earned status in 2013 through Stage I of LPGA Q-School but never actually competed in an official event.
The LPGA’s new policy states that players whose sex assigned at birth is male must establish to the tour’s medical manager and expert panel that they have not experienced any part of male puberty, either beyond Tanner Stage 2 or after age 12 (whichever comes first). They must also maintain a concentration of testosterone in their serum below 2.5 nmol/L.
