Caitlyn Jenner supports transgender golfer fighting to join LPGA Tour: 'Totally different' than Lia Thomas
Jenner said the transgender golfer would be 'playing within the rules'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News contributor Caitlyn Jenner on Wednesday expressed her support for transgender golfer Hailey Davidson to be permitted to compete in the Ladies Professional Golf Associations (LPGA) Tour next year.
Davidson, 29, is fighting to become the first transgender woman to earn an LPGA Tour card after two rounds in the first stage of this weekend’s 2022 LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying School.
Jenner, who repeatedly spoke out against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas' participation in women's competitions defended Jackson in an interview on "America Reports," telling Fox News that the unfair biological advantage in Thomas' case doesn't apply to golf, which requires a different skill set with "a different set of rules."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Caitlyn Jenner American Olympic athlete at the 16th tee during the second round of LIV golf invitational series on July 30, 2022. (Chris Trotman/LIV Golf via Getty Images)
"I’ve been very consistent with how I’ve tried to approach these transgender athletes. It really depends on the sport. Every sport is different," Jenner said. "Obviously, we saw with Lia Thomas, she had gone through male puberty, bigger cardiovascular system, it just wasn’t fair. And fortunately, we won that one"
Fox News host John Roberts noted that Jackson is qualified to play in the LPGA, as the rules were changed in 2010 to permit golfers who were not born female.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"She’s playing within the rules," Jenner agreed. "Golf is totally different game. It is a game of touch and feel."
The avid golf fan and Olympic gold medalist told Roberts that she had personally been outperformed by LPGA participants in the past.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas competed on the men’s team at Penn before transitioning. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
"These girls are really, really good," Jenner said, adding that while she supports Davidson's effort, she's unsure whether she actually has what it takes to compete in the LPGA Tour.
"Honestly, for me, the jury is still out on this one," Jenner said. "I don’t think she’s gonna be in a position where she's gonna be dominating on the LPGA tour. To be honest with you, those girls are so good."
Jenner also praised Davidson's mother for defending her child against critics who argue that her participation in the LPGA would be unfair.
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"To be honest with you, I’m on HaiIey's mom’s side," she said. "They don’t know what it is like to go through a transition, how difficult it is. The mothers do know and Hailey's mom knows what this child has been through and is out there supporting her."
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 a U.S. Open local, qualifying in 2015 at Admiral’s Cove in Jupiter, Florida.