A golfer who competed against trans player Hailey Davidson has pleaded for the LPGA to change their gender rules.
Davidson, 31, has once again attempted to get an LPGA card but failed to make it past the second stage, finishing in 95th out of 190 golfers. But her quest to go professional in the ladies game has been met with backlash from a plethora of players, including Olivia Schmidt.
Schmidt was highlighted at the Independent Women’s forum in a recent video this week, titled: ‘Tee Time; Keep Women’s Golf Female’. In the video, Schmidt hit out at the LPGA’s current allowance for transgender athletes who have undergone hormone therapy to compete against biological women.
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“I think that when you have a big organization that only protects one person compared to 400 others, that says a lot about who they are and how they handle themselves,” Schmidt said in the video. “They’re protecting the few among the many.”
Under the current ruling, Davidson would be allowed to participate in events in which Davidson tries to gain professional status on the women’s tour. Almost 300 rival players have opposed Davidson’s inclusion in LPGA qualifying events.
Schmidt continued to call for the rules to be altered. “The bottom line is we can fight this all we want, but the true change comes from the LPGA,” she added. “They are the only ones with the power to stop it. It’s up to them to protect us.”
Schmidt continued: “I want my kids one day to chase their dreams and not have these distractions in their way. I’m just praying that [the policy] gets changed, and I’m praying that we can find a way to kind of find some common ground in that and hopefully for the next generation of golfers.”
Davidson has faced backlash in her bid to reach the LPGA (
haileydgolf/Instagram)
Alongside the video, a stat claimed that “male golfers are allowed to compete in women’s events, despite the fact they have an estimated 30% performance advantage in driving distance compared to female golfers.”
Davidson has been open about her transition and defended her ability to attempt to qualify to turn pro. “Every year I have played at Q School, the players have gotten longer and longer to where I was being outdriven by 40 yards consistently in the final round yesterday by one player,” Davidson wrote in an Instagram post in August.
“Honestly I love seeing it though, especially since their [sic] is this massive lie out there that I am outdriving everyone, which is just so very far from the truth and reality. Clearly conservative media needs to give these amazing female athletes WAY more credit rather than belittle them and their capabilities all in an attempt to attack transgender athletes.”
Davidson played NCAA men’s Division II and III golf and last competed as a male golfer in 2015 before beginning hormone therapy treatments and underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2021. The 31-year-old was banned from competing in the NXXT Golf tournaments earlier this year but is permitted to play on the LPGA Tour due to an inclusion policy. The LPGA Tour removed its requirements for golfers to be “female at birth” in 2010.
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