Hailey Davidson is set to make history by becoming the first trans woman in the world to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour.
29-year-old Davidson, who is currently tied for 59th place after the first two rounds of the LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying School in Palm Desert, Florida, is set to qualify for the 2023 Epson Tour status, the official qualifying tour for the American women golfers organisation.
Shooting a 70, then a 76, Davidson now needs to score under 88 in the next round to qualify, before moving onto the next round, where the top 100 players will compete in Stage 2 in October, followed by the final stage in December.
Davidson, who is also the first trans woman to win a professional US tournament, has previously spoken out about transphobia she has encountered in sport, transphobia that has already started to build following reports of her recent success.
“I’ve seen that it’s not about protecting women’s sports or me having an advantage; it’s just that you don’t like trans people,” she explained on the Like It Is podcast in July.
“It’s very sad that that’s what it comes down to. In the last couple of months, that’s what I’ve come to learn.”
Along with transphobia on social media, Davidson’s performance has also been criticised in the media, including Fox News, the Daily Mail, the Telegraph and GB News.
However, speaking with Golfweek in 2021, Davidson highlighted that she had lost 30 yards from her drive since she began medically transitioning.
“I guess that’s what frustrates me the most,” she explained.
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