Transgender athlete Hailey Davidson must realize that golf is a game of integrity and withdraw from female competition.
Then the Ladies Professional Golf Association should follow suit and seize this opportunity to reverse its grave mistake – and restore the spirit of one of the longest-running professional women's sports associations in the world.
Let me be clear: I do not come to these conclusions easily.
As the world's greatest athlete at 26, a lifelong news and sports commentator, and the patriarch of one of the world's most famous families, I have a duty to add my voice to the raging, evolving debate over transgenderism and elite sports competition.
That contentious issue has exploded again as the 30-year-old Davidson fights for a spot on the LPGA Tour after winning the NXXT Women's Classic last week.
These days, far too many are afraid to even speak out for fear of rejection or retaliation.
Well, I'm not afraid – and my perspective can humbly cut through so much noise.
When I competed in the Olympics, all I thought about was my competition. I respected her deeply and of course used all my strength to defeat her on equal terms.
But respectfully, Davidson (who asks to be referred to with the pronouns “they/them”) cannot claim to compete with the same esprit de corps.
Transgender athlete Hailey Davidson must realize that golf is a game of integrity and withdraw from female competition.
As the world's greatest athlete at 26, a lifelong news and sports commentator, and the patriarch of one of the world's most famous families, I have a duty to add my voice to the raging, evolving debate over transgenderism and elite sports competition.
I am a transgender person who began playing golf in my 50s and played as an amateur non-competitively alongside men and women of all ages. I know for a fact that there are physical differences between men and women that modern medicine cannot eliminate – especially after male puberty.
And Davidson, who began sex reassignment surgery in his early 20s and underwent sex reassignment surgery six years later, is stronger than rivals.
Davidson has responded to some of these criticisms, claiming that their strength has declined significantly since the “transition”.
“It's crazy how much misinformed hate I've received so far today,” Davidson wrote on Instagram. “All these people (think) I hit 300 yards or even 280 yards.” How about 250 on a good day?
Maybe that's true. But a 250-yard drive would place Davidson among the top 13 LGPA players with the longest drive time today.
I am a transgender person who began playing golf in my 50s and played as an amateur non-competitively alongside men and women of all ages.
Davidson has responded to some of these criticisms, claiming that their strength has declined significantly since the “transition”.
Davidson has never been more dominant as a male athlete.
I have had several confidential discussions with people from the golf world, including the PGA, LPGA, LIV, Aramco, ownership groups and sponsors.
Your private feedback is mostly consistent.
Davidson was a mediocre male golfer who never had a real chance of making the PGA. But now Davidson is in the running for one of the most coveted spots in women's sports.
How is this fair to women?
Why can't Davidson, who received a college scholarship as a male athlete, compete against men?
The telling answer, which some trans athletes in the golf world – and beyond – will never admit, is that they would never make that cut.
Davidson has become an example of what many trans people and allies fear – a seemingly self-centered individual who doesn't think about the consequences of his actions and can actually cause harm to others.
Finally, I ask the LPGA: Isn't it time to admit you made a misstep?
The LPGA was founded in 1950 by 13 ambitious women who wanted to provide a space for female golfers to compete and win. The PGA Tour, founded around 30 years earlier, has always been open to both men and women. But the only time a woman made the cut in a PGA Tour event was at the 1945 Los Angeles Open.
Davidson, who began sex reassignment surgery in her early 20s and underwent sex reassignment surgery six years later, is stronger than her rivals.
I know for a fact that there are physical differences between men and women that modern medicine cannot eliminate – especially after male puberty. (Above) Rose Zhang (right) of the USA walks along with the pack during the third round of the 2023 LPGA Maybank Championship
It wasn't until 1981 that Kathy Whitworth became the first player to reach $1 million in career earnings. Today, professional female golfers on the LPGA Tour play for a total prize pool of $118 million.
This is an incredible achievement.
The LPGA Tour was also at the forefront of the fight for equality, notably rejecting a “Caucasians Only” policy before the first black member joined the tour in 1963.
To the Tour's credit, I believe the LPGA's heart was in the right place. But when the association voted in 2010 to remove the requirement to assign sex at birth from its statutes and allow transgender people who had undergone gender reassignment surgery to compete, it made a mistake.
The LPGA's unfortunate decision put them on a slippery slope. Women are likely to be deprived of more opportunities, further undermining the LPGA's mission and reflecting negatively on transgender people.
This is not about a person, a governing body or a sport.
This is a simple matter of fairness…and integrity.
Golf should lead the way.