(Reuters) – The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) updated its gender policy on Wednesday, and players assigned male at birth and who have gone through male puberty will not be eligible to compete.
The new policy comes into effect in the 2025 season, and covers the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour, and all other elite LPGA competitions, where athletes who are assigned female at birth are eligible to compete.
“Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,” LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said in a statement.
“The policy represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions.”
The policy was informed by a working group of top experts in medicine, science, sport physiology, golf performance and gender policy law, the LPGA said.
This working group advised that the effects of male puberty give competitive advantages in golf performance compared to players who have not undergone male puberty.
A player whose sex assigned at birth is male must satisfy an expert panel that they have not experienced any part of male puberty, and since receiving gender reassignment treatment the concentration of testosterone in their serum must remain below a set limit.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Toby Davis)
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