LPGA Faces Challenges with Sponsorship Withdrawals and Transgender Golfers

Cognizant Withdraws Founders Cup Sponsorship After 3 Years
Turning Attention to PGA Tour for Proven Marketing Impact
Transgender Golfer Davidson Enters LPGA Q-School
Protest with Petition Against 275 Female Golfers Participating

A new concern has arisen.

IT company Cognizant will stop sponsoring the LPGA Tour Founders Cup starting next year. This is a photo of this year's tournament champion Rose Zhang posing with the winner's trophy.

This is about the U.S. Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour. A reliable sponsor has announced it will cease support, and the situation has become turbulent due to a transgender golfer. At a time when the LPGA Tour is aiming for a new leap forward in its 75th anniversary next year, difficulties have emerged. First, the LPGA Tour is looking for a new title sponsor for the Founders Cup. The IT company Cognizant, which had been the title sponsor of the Founders Cup for three years until this year, has decided to withdraw. On the 23rd (local time), the LPGA Tour acknowledged the end of the contract, stating, "We thank Cognizant for their support over the past three years. The sponsor for next year's Founders Cup will be announced during the CME Group Tour Championship, the season finale."

The Founders Cup began in 2011 with a total prize fund of $1 million. From 2012 to 2019, it was a 'moderate scale' tournament with a total prize fund of $1.5 million. From 2014 to 2020, Korean companies or Korean-American banks served as title sponsors. However, from 2021 to this year, when Cognizant became the sponsor, the total prize fund increased to $3 million, with a winner's prize of $450,000. This amount is the fourth highest after the five major championships and the CME Group Tour Championship.

Starting this year, Cognizant shifted its focus to the U.S. Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Tour, which offers a larger scale and more significant golf marketing impact. They created the Cognizant Classic (total prize fund of $9 million), a tournament formerly known as the Honda Classic until last year. Cognizant will also become the official sponsor of the Presidents Cup starting in 2026. With Cognizant withdrawing, it is expected to be difficult for the Founders Cup to maintain the $3 million total prize fund even if a new title sponsor is found next year.

The LPGA Tour is a hot topic due to transgender golfer Hailey Davidson's participation in Q-School.
[Photo by Golfweek]

To make matters worse, the issue of a transgender player has surfaced. The Independent Women's Forum (IWF) recently sent a petition opposing Hailey Davidson (Scotland), a transgender golfer, from participating in the LPGA Tour Qualifying (Q) School to the LPGA, the United States Golf Association (USGA), and the International Golf Federation (IGF). Davidson was a male golfer who underwent gender reassignment surgery and is now competing as a female golfer.

The 275 signatories of this petition are known to be current and former female golfers. The organization pointed out, "It is estimated that males have about a 30% advantage over females in golf ball striking ability. Anatomical differences between men and women significantly affect clubhead speed and consistency in striking the ball." They added, "Establishing clear and consistent participation policies based on the player's gender is essential for the integrity and fairness of women's golf," and claimed, "The LPGA continues to maintain policies that allow male players to compete in women's golf tournaments and win."

Since 2010, following lawsuits by transgender players, the LPGA removed the 'female at birth' clause from tournament eligibility. This issue had been quiet for some time, but it resurfaced when Davidson won on a mini-tour and applied for the LPGA Tour Q-School this time. Davidson played on the golf teams at Wilmington University and Christopher Newport University as a male golfer. He also participated in the regional qualifiers for the 2015 U.S. Open.