R&A changes gender policy in line with LPGA and USGA

The R&A announced a change in its gender policy this Thursday, December 12. The institution called it a "fair competition policy" and largely follows in the footsteps of changes announced last week by the LPGA and the United States Golf Association (USGA).

The core of the change is that transgender players must have transitioned before puberty. Otherwise, they will be considered ineligible to play in R&A-sanctioned tournaments.

The new gender policy will take effect on January 1, 2025 and will apply to all professional players and those playing in elite amateur tournaments. The policy does not affect recreational golf in any way.

The R&A CEO Martin Slumbers had this to say about the matter (via the governing body's official website):

"While we believe that golf should be open to all and are committed to developing the sport, we recognise that we have a duty to ensure that in our elite competitions players can compete fairly and equally."

Players whose sex at birth was female will not be restricted in any way from playing in tournaments sanctioned by The R&A. The governing body has also confirmed that transgender players who have transitioned after puberty are welcome to play in men's tournaments, both professionals and elite amateurs.

Recently, the LPGA and USGA updated their respective gender policies. The underlying principle of both updates was that transgender players would only be eligible to play in women's tournaments if they transitioned before puberty.

Which tournaments will the R&A's new gender policy apply to?

Martin Slumbers at the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon. - Source: Imagn

The R&A is one of the two governing bodies of world golf (along with the USGA). Virtually the entire golfing world (except the notorious cases of United States and Mexico) is governed by the rules of the governing body based in St. Andrews, Scotland.

These are the main tournaments (professional and amateur) where the new gender policy will apply from January 1, 2025:

• Latin America Amateur Championship
• Africa Amateur Championship
• Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific
• The Women's Amateur Championship
• The Vagliano Trophy
• Women's Senior Amateur Championship
• AIG Women's Open

The R&A takes its name from the Royal & Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews, one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. The governing body was established in 2004 and is made up of three subsidiaries, Rules, Championships and Group Services.

The first subsidiary is responsible for the creation, study, updating and clarification of the rules of golf, a responsability it shares with the USGA, each institution within its sphere of influence.

The second subsidiary is the organisation arm of the institution. It is the entity responsible for organising the events sanctioned by this governing body, such as the AIG Women's Open and The Open Championship. The third subsidiary is responsible for the internal functioning of the institution.