Trans Golfer Hailey Davidson Misses Qualifying For U.S. Women's Open By One, Could Still Get In As Alternate

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Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson, who was banned from a professional women's tour earlier this year, came within one spot of qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open. The biological male could still get into the major championship field, however, after earning the first alternate spot in the qualifier in Florida.

Davidson posted scores of 70-73 in the 36-hole qualifier at Bradenton Country Club. The top two players in the 58-player field earned automatic spots into the U.S. Women's Open. Davidson's total score of 143 was one shot shy of forcing a playoff with amateur Pimpisa Sisutham, who finished runner-up to Amelie Zalsman.

Davidson taking the first alternate spot is a massive deal. While few players will withdraw from the U.S. Women's Open given that it is a major championship, the chances of a player dropping out of the field and Davidson having their name called to compete is not zero.

In other words, a biological male competing in the most iconic women's golf tournament in the world isn't completely out of the question.

Women's Professional Golf Tour Bans Transgender Golfer Hailey Davidson

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Davidson competed on multiple men's teams in college before beginning hormone treatments in September 2015. They reportedly underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2021, which is required by both the LPGA and USGA gender policy to compete among women.

The USGA's gender policy reads as follows: 

"For the purposes of registration on entry applications for USGA Championships, players are required to register as either male or female in accordance with their biological assigned-at-birth gender. For any player wishing to compete as a gender that is different than their biological assigned-at-birth gender or for any player who has transitioned or is currently transitioning to a gender that is different than their assigned-at-birth gender, the player will need to follow the processes outlined below in this Policy and comply with all eligibility requirements herein."

In March, NXXT Golf, a women's professional tour Davidson was competing and winning on, announced that all competitors must be a biological female at birth to participate. 

NXXT Golf announced the changes to its gender policy on March 8, which happened to be International Women's Day. The announcement stated, "This decision underscores the organization’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of women's professional golf and ensuring fair competition."

NXXT was the second women's mini-tour in the United States to ban transgender athletes from competing with the Arizona-based Cactus Tour doing the same in February.

Davidson admitted on the record that men have physical advantages over women, but explained that their situation was different given that they underwent reassignment surgery years ago.

The U.S. Women's Open will be held at Lancaster Country Club just outside of Philadelphia later this month.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.