Despite qualifying and winning a legal battle, Joost Luiten will not represent the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics this summer.
Luiten, alongside fellow Dutch golfers Darius Van Driel, Anne van Dam, and Dewi Weber, earned the chance to compete in the Olympics. However, the Netherlands’ Olympic committee sent only van Dam, believing she was the only one with a realistic chance to win a medal.
In response, Luiten took the Dutch Olympic committee to court and won the case last week, theoretically securing his place in the tournament. However, on Tuesday, the International Golf Federation (IGF) announced that his spot in the 60-man field “had already been reallocated.” The IGF also cited the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for denying a request to expand the field size specifically for Luiten, told NBC Sports.
“The IGF was not party to the legal action brought forth by Luiten in the Netherlands,” the IGF stated, according to ESPN. “Nevertheless, in an effort to support Luiten, the IGF sought an exception from the IOC to increase the field size in the men’s Olympic golf competition from 60 to 61 competitors to include Luiten. However, the request was denied by the IOC today. The IGF has advised Luiten of the IOC’s decision, and he has not informed the IGF whether he intends to pursue this matter further.”
Luiten did not hold back his frustration in an Instagram post on Tuesday. “I can’t take the Olympics (IOC) seriously anymore! If you say the fundamentals of the Olympic games are about integrity, fair play, and respect, you are all lies!” he wrote. “Even though I have been qualified by their own rules and entered before the entry deadline, they don’t let me play! … It’s all politics and all they care about is that they have their own party at the Olympics with their mates!!”
At 38, Luiten has had a successful career, winning six times on the DP World Tour, most recently at the NBO Oman Open in 2018. He is currently ranked No. 159 in the Official World Golf Rankings and was No. 40 in the Olympic rankings when the Netherlands decided not to send him to Paris.
The men’s Olympic golf tournament begins on August 1 at Le Golf National, just outside of Paris. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa are competing for the United States. According to the Olympic qualification rules, the top 15 golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings after the U.S. Open were eligible to compete, with each country allowed a maximum of four golfers. The remaining field was filled by the top two eligible golfers from each country, provided they did not already have two golfers in the top 15.
Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship earlier this season, secured the gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in Japan. Rory Sabbatini took silver, and C.T. Pan, who recently earned a spot at the British Open through his performance at the John Deere Classic, won the bronze medal in a playoff.