Transgender golfer Bobbi Lancaster aims for LPGA Tour in 2014

• Bobbi Lancaster is still aiming for the LPGA
• She has faced ups and downs in her journey%2C saying she %22underperformed all year%22
• Lancaster is excited for 2014%3B she%27s worked on her %22self-belief and mental toughness%22 with sports psychologist

Nine months ago, a headline on USA TODAY Sports declared, "Transgender golfer dreams of playing in LPGA."

Nine months later, the dream remains alive, although the pursuit has delivered its share of surprises.

After undergoing gender-reassignment surgery in 2010, highly regarded Gold Canyon physician Robert Lancaster became Bobbi Lancaster. The decision was made after the then-59-year-old spent decades searching for inner peace.

After finally finding the skin she felt comfortable in, Lancaster renewed a relationship with a sport that often had brought her great joy. A gifted amateur golfer as Robert, Bobbi decided to try to make the cut professionally, on the LPGA Tour. She opted against the women's seniors Legends Tour because, despite her age, she believed the LPGA would be more fair after decades of being exposed to testosterone.

Her golf journey has delivered both promise and disappointment.

At a four-day LPGA qualifying tournament in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in August, she did not play well enough to finish in the top 100 and advance to stage 2 of the event. She did, however, perform to the standards that allowed her to qualify for the LPGA's developmental Symetra Tour in 2014.

As she feared, her head got the better of her. In each round, she played well enough on the first 12 holes to advance to the next stage. But each time down the stretch, her game crumbled.

"I underperformed all year," she said. "It was so frustrating. It was a result of some orthopedic issues. But mainly it was because of a lack of self-belief and mental toughness.

"I have addressed this with my sports psychologist extraordinaire and feel I have made great strides and am excited about the 2014 competitive year."

In addition to competing on the Symetra Tour, Lancaster will participate in local Cactus Tour events and is feeling increasingly confident about her game.

From a logistical standpoint, Lancaster did not run into many roadblocks. In 2010, LPGA players voted to allow transgender players to compete on the tour. The biggest challenge was gathering all of the lab work the LPGA required to disclose her testosterone and estrogen levels. All proved to be in the acceptable range.

Her presence in the LPGA qualifying event did not cause a huge stir, and several competitors reached out to say they were inspired by her story.

The local competitive golf scene hasn't been as inviting. As much as she has tried to fit in, she hasn't made the connections she hoped she would. Some golfers have dismissed her or treated her rudely. Few reach out.

"I am not looking for sympathy here," she said. "Perhaps it is to be expected when trying to combine a 63-year-old end-of-competitive-life transgendered woman, semiretired physician with 20-somethings (who are) fit and at the start of their careers. …

"But it's my choice. It's where I feel my game is most on an even playing field."

The chronicling of her story in The Arizona Republic led to some surprises, too. Her journey was retold by a variety of national publications and was of particular interest in Canada, where she grew up.

She did numerous interviews with Canadian media, including a Toronto radio station and the Medical Post, a medical journal. She will be a featured speaker at Kansas State University in April, discussing "The Transgendered Athlete."

For someone who struggled with public speaking as a young medical student, it is quite an accomplishment.

"I am going to really enjoy interacting with students on an important social issue," she said.

Lancaster continues enjoying life with her spouse, Lucy, who married Robert and stayed with Bobbi after the surgery. She still practices medicine and believes "I am doing some of the best work of my career."

Her story has affected others.

Numerous people reached out to The Republic to share similar stories or to say they were inspired by her journey. Critics, too, spoke out when they felt it was unfair for Lancaster to try to compete in the LPGA. They were a minority, however.

Much of her personal feedback, too, was positive.

"I received literally hundreds of responses from people who were touched, inspired, motivated and changed by my story," she said. "This was the best part for me. I felt I was making a difference and healing in many situations."

She continues to forge on, with golf and life.

And maybe one day, that dream will become a reality.

Paola Boivin also writes for The Arizona Republic