Tag: LPGA

Trans golfer Hailey Davidson wins women’s tournament, increasing chances to LPGA qualifier

A transgender golfer with dreams of making it to the LPGA tour has won a women’s tournament in Florida, which improved her chances of earning herself a spot in a qualifying tour.

Hailey Davidson, 30, came out on top at the NXXT Women’s Classic on Jan. 17 at the Mission Inn Resort and Club, 35 miles northwest of Orlando, after shooting one-over-73 and ending the three-round tournament +4.

Davidson, a Scottish native residing in Florida, won after being 3-shots behind with two holes to go before forcing a playoff following her play on the 18th hole, according to Davidson’s Instagram post celebrating the victory.

NXXT Golf is a professional women’s golf tour focused on “elevating women’s golf.”

“The Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour,” according to the Epson Tour’s website.

The win propelled Davidson to the top of the NXXT tour’s leaderboard where she boasts a total score of 1320, a whopping 150 points ahead of the woman in second place.

Out of the five tournaments held in the league since November, Davidson has placed in the top-2, twice, along with a 7 and 9 place finish.

Hailey Davidson poses with the trophy she won after winning the NXXT Women’s Classic on Jan. 17, 2024, in Howey-In-The-Hills, FL. haileydgolf/Instagram
Davidson won the tournament after being 3-shots behind with two holes to go before forcing a playoff following her play on the 18th hole. haileydgolf/Instagram

Along with a trophy and the 500 league points given to the winner, Davidson was awarded $1,576.51, increasing her season total to $4,206.84, with a current career total of $5,801.89 over 8 events.

At the end of the tour’s schedule, 10 exemptions will be awarded to the top five points leaders to participate in the Epson Tour.

The league is the official LPGA qualifying tour and has produced over 600 members who have gone on to play in the largest and most prestigious female golf organization in the world.

Five events have already been completed in the tour’s schedule, with eight more to go, all ending with the NXXT Tour Championship in Ocala, FL. from March 25 to 27.

The win propelled Davidson to the top of the NXXT tour’s leaderboard where she boasts a total score of 1320, a whopping 150 points ahead of the woman in second place. haileydgolf/Instagram
Davidson made history prior to joining NXXT Golf, as she became the “World’s first transgender person to win a professional golf tournament,” a record she boasts about in her Instagram bio. haileydgolf/Instagram

If Davidson were to be awarded two of the ten exemptions to the Epson Tour, she had to earn approval from the LPGA while she was transitioning from male to female.

She allegedly began talking with the tour in 2016 but wasn’t deemed eligible to compete until 2021, when, at that time, she had been on Hormone Replacement Therapy for 5 years and 8 months.

She also had full gender reassignment surgery by that time, according to a post on social media dated Oct. 2022.

Davidson also claims she lost 15 mph of “club head speed” as a result of her transition.

The average PGA Tour golfer’s club head speed is 114.2 mph while the average driver swing speed on the LPGA Tour is approximately 94 mph, according to analytics company GraffGolf.

Davidson allegedly began talking with the tour in 2016 but wasn’t deemed eligible to compete until 2021, when, at that time, she had been on Hormone Replacement Therapy for 5 years and 8 months. haileydgolf/Instagram

Davidson made history prior to joining NXXT Golf, as she became the “World’s first transgender person to win a professional golf tournament,” a record she boasts about in her Instagram bio.

Her goal of making the LPGA has been defended by Caitlyn Jenner, with the Olympic gold medalist supporting the transgender golfer to compete in the tour.

“I’ve been very consistent with how I’ve tried to approach these transgender athletes. It really depends on the sport. Every sport is different,” Jenner said in August 2022.



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Hyo Joo Kim rallies to maintain 3-shot lead in windy LOTTE Championship

EWA BEACH, Hawaii — Hyo Joo Kim rallied with two late birdies for an even-par 72 to maintain a three-stroke lead Friday in the LPGA Tour’s LOTTE Championship.

After dropping strokes on the par-4 seventh and par-3 12th with her only bogeys of the week at breezy Hoakalei Country Club, Kim birdied the par-4 14th and par-5 18th to get back to 10 under with one round left.

“It was very windy today,” said Kim, the 26-year-old South Korean player who won the last of her four LPGA Tour titles in 2019. “There was a lot of wind going back and forth. I think it was difficult because it was not specifically (from one) direction. The pin position was also difficult compared to the first and second rounds. I had a hard time in that regard.”

Kim nearly holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle on 18.

“It was very important because it was a matter of over par or not. I had a chance at the 16th hole, but I missed so I was a little angry,” said Kim, the winner of the major Evian Championship in 2014. “Now I feel much better since I made a birdie on the last hole.”

American Brianna Do (67) and Japan’s Hinako Shibuno (68) were tied for second. Sunday qualifier Do birdied the first three holes.

“It’s kind of nice starting off with a par 5,” Do said. “You go driver, 3-wood and then you have a wedge in hand. Yeah, starting with a birdie always helps. It calms the nerves and kind of gets you settled into the round.”

Do ran into trouble on the difficult 16th hole, which features a split fairway and multiple water features. Her tee shot found a bunker on an adjacent hole, her second hit a nearby tree and left her a shot out of the rough. With her third shot, however, Do found the green from over 200 yards and she went on to two-putt for bogey.

“I thought I hit a good drive,” Do said. “It’s just the wind pushed it a little more and I didn’t see it because there were just some trees over there, but I’m guessing it got an unfortunate kick into that bunker on 12, I think,” Do said.

Shibuno had a bogey-free round.

“Putting was more stronger, and so, yeah that makes me birdie,” Shibuno said.

Somi Lee and Stephanie Meadow were 6 under. They each shot 69.

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