R&A follows LPGA in updating policy on transgender women golfers
From 2025, transgender women who have gone through male puberty will not be able to compete in women’s golf championships organized by the R&A.
St Andrews-based golf’s governing body, the R&A, has updated its gender policy rules following “extensive consultation” with medical and scientific experts.
Following the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) Updated gender policy Competitors who have gone through male puberty will be excluded from the women’s event this month.
The R&A said: “Evidence suggests that golf is a gender-influenced sport, with male puberty conferring a performance advantage.”
The R&A administers the rules of golf outside the United States and Mexico and oversees women’s championships including the Women’s Open.
Chief executive Martin Slumbers said the R&A had a “responsibility to ensure players compete fairly and equally in our elite competitions”.
“We have carefully reviewed the best medical and scientific advice relevant to transgender athletes participating in elite and junior golf competitions and have decided that updating our conditions of entry to maintain fairness in the Women’s Professional and Elite Amateur Championships is the right thing to do,” Slimb Si said.
Governing bodies in sports such as swimming and athletics have banned transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing at elite levels for women.
