Out transgender pro golfer Hailey Davidson being interviewed by Good Morning Britain. (Screenshot/YouTube Good Morning Britain)
HOWIE-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. | Out transgender pro golfer Hailey Davidson has agreed to undergo further hormone testing following a worrisome backlash to her win this month at the NXXT Women’s Classic in this suburb of Orlando, Fla. Davidson is believed to be the first out transgender golfer to win a professional women’s event.
Davidson, 31, told GolfWeek that she’s received between five and 10 death threats since her victory and has deleted her social media account on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
“It comes with the territory, I suppose,” she said. “No one really cares when I’m not playing well, but as soon as you play well, the whole world ends, and it’s ‘I’m destroying women’s golf now.’” Davidson added that “generally a lot of the hate comes from people who aren’t playing.”
The Scottish-born Floridian said she’s trying to take the negative attention in stride and not let it bother her: “Someone who is at home really frustrated with themselves trying to take it out on me. If I don’t laugh, I’m going to be miserable.”
Instead of misery, however, Davidson posted on Instagram her elation at taking home the NXXT trophy, calling it a surprise.
She now tops the tour’s points list. But given international media reports about the so-called furor over her victory from the likes of Piers Morgan have misled readers into thinking she’s just a few strokes away from competing in the LPGA, Davidson said she welcomes both the additional hormone test and a newly-announced survey of fellow golfers, “to cool the fire down a little.”
Stuart McKinnon, CEO of the NXXT, formerly the East Coast Women’s Pro Golf Tour, announced the anonymous poll in a statement Monday as he addressed Davidson’s victory.
“The recent discussions surrounding Hailey Davidson’s participation and success on our tour have highlighted a range of viewpoints,” McKinnon wrote. “The NXXT Women’s Pro Tour acknowledges these perspectives while emphasizing that our policies and decisions are guided by the frameworks set by the LPGA and USGA. Our primary focus remains on supporting our players’ aspirations and contributing to their journey towards the LPGA.”
“At this point, we’re trying anything to see if we can cool the fire down a little,” Davidson told GolfWeek. “I think we forget that people are actually humans.”
She was three shots back with two to play and wound up clinching her first title in 2 ½ years by beating 24 players in the three-round event earlier this week. Davidson won the trophy after a playoff against Lauren Miller.
The victory bolstered her chances of earning exemptions on the Epson Tour, as the top five earners on the NXXT points list earn two exemptions into Epson Tour fields.
However, as GolfWeek reported, to those unfamiliar with how the tour works, Davidson might appear to be closing-in on those exemptions, but she’s very far off the fairway, so to speak. For players to receive exemptions, the NXXT must have a minimum of 10 events with an average of 40 players, and so far, the NXXT fields are well short of that number.
She said she’s not particularly worried about her place on the NXXT going forward, given that she meets the requirements of both the LPGA’s and USGA’s gender policies.
On Sept. 24, 2015 – a date GolfWeek reported is tattooed on her right forearm – Davidson began her medical transition, and in January 2021 she underwent gender confirmation surgery, which is required under the LPGA’s Gender Policy.
That same year, 2021, Davidson became the second transgender player to compete in LPGA Q-School, but ultimately did not make the cut.
This week, Davidson told GolfWeek she already took the required additional testosterone test and expects to get the results back on Monday.
The golfer told SkyNews while she supports transgender inclusion in sports, she does believe trans participation in sports should be regulated.
“Trans athletes shouldn’t be banned, but at the same time, there needs to be regulations in place because it shouldn’t just be a free for all,” she said.
“I recognize that I did have an unfair advantage a few years ago,” Davidson told SkyNews. “I’ve been transitioning for nine years. I’ve been on hormones for almost nine years, I had surgery… coming up almost on three years. I’ve lost just over 50 miles an hour swing speed.”
Her dream is to earn a place on the LPGA Tour and compete at the Scottish Open, but right now she dismisses those who think she’s two strokes away from those goals.
“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,” Davidson posted on her Instagram.
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