Melbourne, Mar 01: Danish golfer living in Australia will become the first transsexual woman to compete in a professional golf tournament.
Danish golfer Mianne Bagger, who has lived in Australia since 1979, will create a world-first when she competes in the Women's Australian Open in Sydney next week. Bagger, who started playing golf with her father at age 8, had sex-change surgery in 1995. She played amateur golf at the state level from her home town of Adelaide in South Australia from 1999 to early 2003. After turning professional in August 2003 she recently moved to Melbourne to train for the Australian Open, a long-held dream.

"This is my first professional golf tournament and it's one of the biggest in Australia, with a big media contingent, with extra focus on me as well because of my circumstances, so I really don't know how I'm going to handle it but I'm just trying my best to make sure I can focus on my game."


Her participation in next week's event is possible because it's being run by Women's Golf Australia (WGA), one of the very few golf associations in the world that will allow transsexuals to compete.


WGA introduced regulations three years ago to allow transgender players to compete once they have completed surgery and have proof of "post-gender reassignment".


Contention over transsexuals playing professional sport stems from concerns that their previous gender may give them an unfair advantage.


"There are a lot of misconceptions about, in my case being a transsexual woman, of having unfair advantages in sport and being stronger and hitting the ball further, which is just simply not the case," she says.


"I can't blame people for their opinions and what they've been saying because why would they know any different?"


"The best I can do is inform people, give them some facts, explain things, why I don't have an advantage, why I don't hit the ball further."


Bagger says gender reassignment is a long process which as well as surgery involves hormone therapy, part of which includes taking testosterone-inhibiting drugs.


"After surgery there's nothing left in our bodies that produces testosterone anymore. So the way my situation is now I have less testosterone than the average levels for women in society, and as a result of the decreasing testosterone I also have a decrease in muscle-mass and a loss of strength. And basically after surgery that's permanent."


It's a process that changed the style of her game. "I don't hit the ball as far as I used to and my game is no different to any of the other girls out there. If I want to play well, finish well in a tournament I've got to play some damn good golf."


Bagger has said it is her dream to win an Australian Open, but outside that tournament there are few options for her as a professional golfer.


"I can play this one tournament in Australia, that's the only one. In Denmark there are a few pro-ams there's no other tournaments at this stage I can play in. So where it goes after the open I'm really not sure. I just have to see what comes as a result of the open whether people will at least start discussing the issue."


Bagger hopes her appearance at the tournament will help to demystify the issue of transsexuals playing professional sport.


Another controversy that has touched golf recently is the issue of women playing in men's tournaments. While she agrees it's good publicity for the game, Bagger says women should earn their right to play.


"I think if it's something that does continue maybe might lead to change that if women do want to compete maybe they should go through qualifying scores and earn a place at the events like the guys do."


The AAMI Women's Australian Open will be held in Sydney from March 4 to 7.


Bureau Report