A total of 100 players have made it through the LPGA’s Pre-Qualifying Stage (formerly Stage I), including transgender golfer Hailey Davidson.
“All good things come in threes!” Davidson wrote on Instagram.
Three years ago, Davidson became the second transgender player to compete in LPGA Q-School, where she failed to advance past the first stage. She tried again in 2022 and missed the 54-hole cut by a single stroke.
This time, Davidson finished 42nd at Mission Hills Country Club with rounds of 72-72-69-71, finishing at 4 under par. She now advances to the qualifying phase (formerly Phase II), which takes place Oct. 15-18 in Venice, Florida. Those who complete the 72-hole event (playing all four rounds) at Plantation Golf and Country Club will receive Epson Tour status based on their finish. Those who make the cut advance to the final qualifying phase, which takes place in December.
Amateur Ashley Menne won the pre-qualifying phase with a total score of 16 under par.
A few days before the start of the pre-qualifying event, LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan sent a memo to LPGA and Epson Tour players regarding the tour’s gender policies. Golf Week confirmed that Marcoux Samaan stated in the memo that the Tour intends to complete a comprehensive review of its current policies by year-end and implement any policy updates before the 2025 season.
The Commissioner explained that the Tour’s top priority must be to pursue a policy that ensures fair competition and takes into account competitive advantages “first and foremost”.
In 2010, the LPGA voted to remove the requirement that players be “female at birth” shortly after a transgender woman filed a lawsuit against the tour.
Earlier this year, Davidson narrowly missed qualifying for the 79th US Women’s Open, the most important women’s golf tournament.
Davidson had competed primarily in NXXT Golf until the Florida-based mini-tour announced in March – on International Women’s Day – that competitors must be biologically female at birth to participate.
Davidson, who had won the tour three times, was in second place in the mini-tour’s season standings at the time of the suspension. She had competed in NXXT nine times this season.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson moves one step closer to LPGA card as tour continues review of gender policies
