“Ensuring a level playing field” - NXXT Women’s Tour bans trans golfer Hailey Davidson after revising its gender policy

Hailey Davidson, who made history by becoming the first transgender golfer to win a Women’s Tour event, has now been banned by the NXXT Women’s Tour. The Florida-based mini-tour announced the decision on International Women's Day. The circuit officials informed that the NXXT Women’s Tour has revised its gender policy and will now allow only ‘biological females at birth’ to compete.

Announcing on Friday, NXXT Golf noted that the move was made to ‘maintain the integrity of women’s professional golf’ and ‘ensure a level playing field.’ In its statement, the organization underlined its commitment to uplift women’s golf.

Statement from the tour read, as quoted by Golfweek:

"As we navigate through the evolving landscape of sports, it is crucial to uphold the competitive integrity that is the cornerstone of women's sports… Our revised policy is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to celebrating and protecting the achievements and opportunities of female athletes.

Protected categories are a fundamental aspect of sports at all levels, and it is essential for our Tour to uphold these categories for biological females, ensuring a level playing field… NXXT Golf is honored to lead in promoting and advancing women's golf, providing a platform that not only highlights the exceptional talent of women golfers worldwide but also ensures the competition remains equitable for all of our players."

It is pertinent to note that the top players on the Epson Tour have a path to the LPGA Tour. Notably, the top women’s Tour removed its “female at birth” requirement in 2010. Many critics claimed that Hailey Davidson was en route to play on the top circuit.

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Hailey Davidson’s NXXT Women’s Pro Golf Tour win and backlash

It is pertinent to note that Hailey Davidson won on the NXXT Women’s Pro Golf Tour in January. The Scottish golfer won the NXXT Women’s Classic in a playoff and took the lead for the series. However, the win eventually led to her facing major backlash. Following this, the trans golfer came out to slam her critics.

Davidson, who shot to first place in the race to earn an Epson Tour exemption from the NXXT Tour, said that criticism was “misinformed hatred.”

Davidson wrote on Instagram:

“It’s crazy the amount of misinformed hatred I have received so far today. All of these people (think) I hit it 300 yards or even 280 yards. How about 250 on a good day.”

In a different post, the golfer also thanked supporters:

“Most importantly though, thank you to absolutely everyone who has supported me from my fellow competitors to all of you that I may or may not have had the chance to meet yet… Thank you all for helping me wade through any hate and making me feel loved.”

For the unversed, Hailey Davidson last competed as a male at U.S. Open local qualifying in 2015 and began hormone therapy treatments later that year. The trans golfer underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2021.