Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson reacted to the backlash over her victory earlier in the week at a tournament on the NXXT Women’s Pro Golf Tour.
Davidson won the NXXT Women’s Classic in a playoff. Davidson wrote on Instagram the win put her in first place in the race to earn an Epson Tour exemption. The Epson Tour is the developmental tour of the LPGA Tour. The top 10 players of the Epson Tour graduate to the LPGA Tour.
Amid the backlash, Davidson posted on her Instagram Stories about the criticism.
“It’s crazy the amount of misinformed hatred I have received so far today,” Davidson wrote. “All of these people (think) I hit it 300 yards or even 280 yards. How about 250 on a good day.”
A golf ball and flag pole at The Dutch golf course on Aug. 27, 2021 in Spijk, Netherlands. (Neil Baynes/Getty Images)Davidson leads the pack with 1,320 points. Dating back to November, Davidson also has two second-place finishes and has finished in the top 10 in each of the five events she’s played.
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According to the LPGA website, more than 600 Epson Tour alumnae have earned LPGA Tour membership since its start in 1999. There are eight events left in NXTT’s season, concluding with the Tour Championship at the Adena Golf & Country Club in Ocala, Florida.
Davidson, who was born in Scotland but now lives in Kissimmee, Florida, participated in the Epson Tour Qualifying School in 2022 but failed to qualify for the Epson Tour.
The LPGA Tour removed its “female at birth” requirement in 2010. Davidson began hormone therapy treatments in 2015 and underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2021, Golfweek reported in May 2021. According to the outlet, Davidson last competed as a male at U.S. Open local qualifying in 2015 at Admiral’s Cove in Jupiter, Florida.
On Wednesday, Davidson thanked supporters.
LPGA tee markers are seen during the final round of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament at LPGA International on Dec. 4, 2005, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)“Most importantly though, thank you to absolutely everyone who has supported me from my fellow competitors to all of you that I may or may not have had the chance to meet yet,” Davidson wrote. “Thank you all for helping me wade through any hate and making me feel loved.”
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
