Who is Breanna Gill? Transgender golfer receives death threats after winning WPGA Tour of Australasia

Trans golfer Breanna Gill claimed her first professional win at the 2023 Australian Women’s Classic Bonville on Sunday after beating Danni Vasquez in the playoffs. Gill shot a three-foot birdie putt to force the playoff against Vasquez at a score of 6-under.

As Gill won, the crowd erupted in joy, congratulating the latest winner of the event. However, little did Gill know that this win would become a point of controversy over the next few days.

Gill, who jumped to World No. 393 in the golf Rankings after Sunday's victory, started receiving death threats soon after WPGA tweeted about her victory.

There was nothing controversial in WPGA's tweet as it was a simple congratulatory message. However, golf Twitter was outraged because Gill is a trans golfer.

Former Fox News personality Megyn Kelly tweeted criticizing WPGA and referred to this win as 'fraud':

"This is a biological man, a fact not even mentioned in much of the major press coverage celebrating 'her' win over the actual women in this tournament. It’s a fraud, it’s immoral, and it HAS TO STOP."

The hate comments were so intense that WPGA had to hide its account from the public. Gill also removed all her social media accounts.

WPGA chief Karen Lunn informed The Sydney Morning Herald that the tournament removed the tweet for the safety of Gill. Lunn also informed the newspaper that he and other members of WPGA received death threats.

Lunn was quoted as saying via the Sydney Morning Herald:

“Everyone’s worried about her [Gill] welfare. It’s obviously a very tough time.”

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Who was the first transgender woman to win a title?

A couple of years back, U.S. professional Hailey Davidson became the first trans-woman golfer to win a professional tournament. She won the NWGA tour by defeating the likes of Paula Creamer and Perrine Delacour. She has won a few more since then. She has also competed in LPGA Q-School twice.

Mianne Bagger was the first openly transgender woman to feature in a professional golf event at the Women's Australian Open. Later, she also qualified for the Ladies European Tour, creating yet another record.

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2023 Australian Women’s Classic Bonville final leaderboard

Here's the leaderboard for the 2023 Australian Women’s Classic that concluded on Sunday, April 2:

• 1 Breanna Gill -6
• 2 Danni Vasquez -6
• 3 Stephanie Bunque -5
• T4 Belinda Ji (a) -4
• T4 Momoka Kobori -4
• T6 Sarah Hammett (a) -3
• T6 Cholcheva Wongras -3
• 8 June Song (a) -2
• T9 Annika Rathbone -1
• T9 Lydia Hall -1
• T11 Kelsey Bennett E
• T11 Ann Jang (a) E
• T11 Wenyung Keh E
• T14 Hanee Song 1
• T14 Hannah Reeves (a) 1
• T16 Sock Hwee Koh 2
• T16 Ella Scaysbrook (a) 2
• T18 Kristalle Blum 3
• T18 Rhianna Lewis +3
• T20 Munchin Keh +4
• T20 Yuuki Takada (a) +4
• T20 Amy Walsh +4
• 23 Yuna Takagi +5
• T24 Haruhi Nakatani (a) +6
• T24 Wanasa Zhou +6
• T24 Jihye Hannah Park +6
• T24 Sarah Yamaki Branch +6
• T28 Celina Yuan +7
• T28 Chikako Suzuki+7
• T28 Jazy Roberts (a) +7
• T31 Rachel Lee (a) +8