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Hailey Davidson made history on Saturday, January 20, as she won the NXXT Women's Classic at Mission Inn Resort and Club near Orlando to become the first-ever transgender player to win a female field event.
By winning the NXXT Women's Classic, Davidson is now the frontrunner to win the Epson Tour. The top ten players on the Epson Tour will earn the LPGA Tour card, which is their ultimate goal at the moment.
Davidson was born in Scotland as James Scott Davidson to Hamish and Sandra. She was born with her feet backward and, as a result, had to undergo several surgeries while growing up until the age of 17.
Davidson's love for golf began in childhood after her family moved to Kissimmee, Florida. She used to accompany her father, Hamish, to the local golf clubs. She was just ten when she realized that something was not right with her, and as she turned eighteen, she decided to undergo hormonal treatments in 2015. Six years later, she underwent gender reaffirmation surgery in January 2021.
The same year, Davidson competed at Stage I last year. While she missed the cut, she created history by becoming the second transgender woman to compete after Bobbi Lancaster, who competed on the Cactus Tour in 2013. Lancaster had also appeared at the LPGA qualifying event that year and had also gained conditional status on the Epson Tour.
Davidson started her college golf career at Wilmington University, where she earned a scholarship to compete on the men's team of the NCAA Division II school. She was then transferred to the NCAA Division III school men’s team at Christopher Newport in Virginia.
Earlier LPGA Tours had the requirement of 'female at birth' but changed the rule in 2010, which gave new hope to transgender players, including the likes of Hailey Davidson.
"It’s crazy," Hailey Davidson reacts to the criticism
Although Hailey Davidson created history last weekend and gained a lot of praise, she could not escape the criticism of certain people. The 30-year-old trans golfer took to Instagram to react to the backlash. She posted an Instagram story where she said:
"It’s crazy the amount of misinformed hatred I have received so far today. All of these people (think) I hit it 300 yards or even 280 yards. How about 250 on a good day."
Following her surgery in 2021, Hailey Davidson lost 100 pounds and also lost the clubhead speed of 9 mph, which resulted in cutting the distance by 30 yards off the tee.
