Trans golfer addresses transphobia after Florida win: ‘No one gets angry until there is any form of success’
Hailey Davidson has said that she’s accepting of such regulations following her win. (@haileydgolf/Instagram)
A trans golfer from Scotland has spoken about her dream of achieving a Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour card after winning a Florida, US tournament.
Hailey Davidson, the first trans golfer to win a professional women’s event back in 2021, won the tournament at the NXXT Women’s Classic at Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida.
Davidson participated in the elite tournament and beat 24 players in the three-round event which ended on 17 January.
Following her win, Davidson took to social media to address the transphobia she widely received following her win, explaining there is still “a lot of work to be done” before she can join the LPGA Tour, which feels “incredibly far off”.
Posting on Instagram on 21 January, the golf pro wrote: “It’s always interesting how no one gets angry until there is any form of success. While this win was amazing, unlike every article is saying, I am so incredibly far from the LPGA Tour with a lot of work to be done to possibly earn my way there one day.
“I will never allow hate to win, especially when based [on] some misinformation,” she said, whilst concluding with: “Keep swinging and Flush It!”
The tournament that she hopes to one day compete in requires trans athletes to provide a declaration of their gender identity, proof of gender reassignment surgery, and evidence of at least one year of hormonal therapy maintaining testosterone levels at a specified range.
Davidson began gender-affirming treatment in 2015 – which was the last year she competed in her dead gender category – and has since undergone gender-affirmation surgery.
She’s previously spoken about the transphobia she’s encountered in the sporting world, something which is still intensifying after her recent success.
“I’ve seen that it’s not about protecting women’s sports or me having an advantage, it’s just that you don’t like trans people,” she previously told the Like It Is podcast.
“It’s very sad that that’s what it comes down to. In the last couple of months, that’s what I’ve come to learn.”
