LPGA Tour to change female at birth requirement

The PGA Tour doesn't have a rule against women playing, but the LPGA Tour just voted against the female at birth requirement.
Picture of Annika Sorenstam at the PGA Tour's Colonial tournament in 2003/photo provided by McClatchy News-Service.

The LPGA had a rule that said you had to be born a female to play on its tour.

The operative word being, "had."

That's no longer the case as the LPGA Tour's players voted for a change following a recent lawsuit that was brought up.

The Associated Press story reports, "Lana Lawless, a former police officer who had a sex change operation five years ago, filed the federal lawsuit in San Francisco in October claiming the 'female at birth' requirement violated California's civil rights law. The 57-year-old Lawless was seeking to prevent the LPGA from conducting tournaments in the state until it changed its policy."

"Lawless also sued the Long Drivers of America, which followed the LPGA policy. Lawless won the annual women's long-drive golf championship in 2008 with a 254-yard drive, but was barred from competing this year after organizers adopted the LPGA's gender rules."

While men have been barred from playing on the LPGA Tour, women have not been barred from the PGA Tour.

Annika Sorenstam famously played the Colonial - an invitational tournament on the PGA Tour.

Michelle Wie has also put her game against the men on the PGA Tour.

Colleague John Lembo and I discuss this matter in more detail in this week's Leading Off podcast, which airs Thursday.