Girls can’t play on boys’ golf teams anymore, SCHSL committee rules

Female high school golfers in South Carolina such as Lexington’s Gracyn Burgess won’t be able to do double duty, according to Wednesday’s ruling by the South Carolina High School League’s executive committee.

The committee voted 10-1 to eliminate Rule 6 in the golf constitution. That rule allowed female golfers who played in nine matches or less during their season to also play on the boys’ golf team.

“That’s why we came here to get that clarity on what the rules were,” Lexington athletic director Perry Woolbright said.

Woolbright, Lexington principal Melissa Rawl and Lexington One athletics director David Bennett went before the committee to seek interpretation of the rule because of complaints they were getting about girls playing on the boys team.

They wanted to get a decision before the boys’ season begins later this month.

In the past, female golfers such as Burgess and Lauren Stephenson have participated on both boys and girls teams if they played in nine or less matches in their season. Stephenson, who is now at Alabama, earned all-state honors playing with the boys and Burgess was 18^th last year in the boys state tournament.

Woolbright said there are about 10 or so girls around the state who compete on the boys and girls teams.

Now, no female can compete on a boys team unless girls’ golf is not offered at the school or if they get a hardship exemption from the SCHSL executive committee.

This story was originally published February 14, 2018 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Girls can’t play on boys’ golf teams anymore, SCHSL committee rules."