Australian trans golfer banned from professional circuit after bombshell rule change

Australian trans golfer Breanna Gill will be kicked off the WPGA Tour of Australasia following a recent change to the rules of entry.

Gill, 43, has been on the WPGA Tour for eight years and won the Australian Women’s Classic title last year.

However, the WPGA has followed the trend of other golf tours around the world and made a dramatic change in eligibility requirements.

The new rules, which take effect Jan. 1, now require players to be assigned female at birth or transition to female before going through male puberty to compete on the women’s WPGA tour.

“Previously, ‘transitioned’ female athletes were allowed to play on Tour if they met additional eligibility requirements, but effective January 1, 2025, the details will change,” a statement on the WPGA website said.

‘Following the global Tours and decisions based on medical, scientific, legal expertise and consultation with their members, the eligibility requirements of the WPGA Tour of Australasia will now mirror those of the LPGA Tour, with membership eligibility open to those to whom women have been assigned birth or have undergone a transition prior to puberty.

The 43-year-old golfer has been on the WPGA Tour for eight years

‘As has been the case in many areas, the WPGA Tour of Australasia was managed by the Global Tours while a final decision was made at board level applicable to the events to ensure uniformity in women’s golf while maintaining integrity and ensure competitive fairness in women’s golf. professional golf at the highest level.’

The decision comes after the LPGA Tour announced a dramatic change to its gender policy in early December.

The USGA, led by CEO and former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan, released a similar statement outlining the same policy changes.

The LPGA and USGA said their policies aimed to be inclusive of gender identities and expression while striving for equality in competition.

The LPGA said its expert working group recommended that the effects of male puberty allowed for competitive advantages in golf compared to players who had not gone through puberty.

The announcement came just two days after Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan announced he would resign in January.

“Our policy reflects a comprehensive, science-based and inclusive approach,” Marcoux Samaan said via the Associated Press.

“The policy represents our ongoing commitment to ensuring everyone feels welcome within our organization, while maintaining the fairness and competitive equity of our elite leagues.”

Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson was criticized for competing against biological women

Like Gill, the updated policy would exclude the eligibility of trans golfer Hailey Davidson, who has attempted to earn her professional status on the women’s tour amid criticism and opposition from nearly 300 rival players.

The 31-year-old missed qualifying for this year’s US Women’s Open by one shot and fell short at the LPGA Q school.

Davidson last competed as a male golfer in 2015, before beginning hormone therapy treatments and undergoing gender reassignment surgery in 2021.

She was banned from tournament play on NXXT Golf — a professional women’s mini tour — earlier this year after winning the Women’s Classic in January at Mission Inn Resort and Club, a track event near Orlando.

The win allowed the Scot to move a step closer to the LPGA, with the NXXT granting its top five players exemptions to the Epson Tour – a step below the top level of the women’s game.

However, the circuit subsequently announced on International Women’s Day that it had reversed its gender policy and that, effective immediately, participants must be biologically female at birth to participate.

Although Davidson was unable to obtain her LPGA tour card this year, she will not get a second chance next season as the new policy would apply not only to the LPGA Tour, but also to the Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour and the qualification for the tours.