The R&A announced a “fair competition policy” regarding the eligibility of transgender athletes at the governing body’s championship events. On Thursday the organization—following the collective lead of the USGA and LPGA on the matter, which released their policies last week—released a statement Thursday that, starting in 2025, “a golfer entering female professional and elite amateur championships organized by the R&A must have been female at birth or transitioned to female before the onset of male puberty to be eligible to compete.”

“We have carefully reviewed the best available medical and scientific advice relating to participation in elite and scratch level golf competitions by transgender athletes and decided that updating our entry conditions to preserve fairness in our female professional and elite amateur championships is the right thing to do,” says departing R&A CEO Martin Slumbers. “While we believe that golf should be open to all and are committed to developing the sport, we recognize that we have a duty to ensure that in our elite competitions players can compete fairly and equally.”

The R&A’s decision mirrors what the USGA and LPGA have put forth, in that players whose sex assigned at birth is male must establish to medical panels that they have not experienced any part of male puberty, either beyond Tanner Stage 2 or after age 12 (whichever comes first). They must also maintain a concentration of testosterone in their serum below 2.5 nmol/L.

In its announcement the R&A noted these requirements will not apply at a recreational level.

The debate surrounding transgender athletes in golf gained significant attention this year, largely due to the competitive rise of Hailey Davidson. A former men’s Division II and Division III college golfer at Wilmington (Del.) University and Christopher Newport University in Virginia, Davidson began transitioning in 2015 and completed gender reassignment surgery in 2021. At 31, Davidson made headlines in October by advancing to the second stage of LPGA Q-School. Though she fell short of earning an LPGA Tour card, she secured limited status on the developmental Epson Tour, marking a notable milestone in her career. Earlier in the year, Davidson also came close to qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open, missing out by just one stroke after a three-way tie for third in a 36-hole qualifier at Bradenton (Fla.) Country Club.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com