Joost Luiten’s increasingly-convoluted journey towards potentially teeing it up at the Paris Olympics next month has taken another more positive turn, as far as the Dutch golfer is concerned.
The International Golf Federation announced on Saturday, July 13 that Luiten – a six-time DP World Tour winner – would be placed on the reallocation list for the 60-man tournament at Le Golf National.
He is now the first alternate for 21 players and could end up regaining a place he originally earned if the likes of Viktor Hovland, Sepp Straka, or Adrian Meronk pull out before the men’s Olympic golf tournament begins on Thursday, August 1.
In a statement, the IGF said: “Joost Luiten of the Netherlands has been placed on the reallocation list for the men’s Olympic golf competition based on his final Olympic Golf Ranking from 17 June 2024.
“The International Golf Federation (IGF) recognises an error was made by the Dutch NOC*NSF with its qualification criteria and subsequently during the confirmation process for men’s Olympic golf qualifier Joost Luiten.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“This error was confirmed via legal process, though only after the field for the men’s Olympic golf competition was finalised pursuant to the IGF’s published qualification procedures.
“The IGF’s subsequent request to the IOC to expand the field for the men’s Olympic golf competition to allow Luiten’s entry was denied, as previously announced.”
As per the statement, Luiten thought he had made it to Paris as part of the Netherlands squad after sitting 40th in the IGF’s men’s Olympic rankings at the culmination of the qualification period.
He was then told by the NOC*NSF that he – along with fellow Dutch nationals Darius van Driel and Dewi Weber – had “no reasonable chance of a top-eight ranking during the Olympic Games” and only LET star Ann van Dam would be representing the Netherlands in golf.
As a result, the 38-year-old announced he was taking the NOC*NSF to court over their decision. Luiten won the legal battle and had the decision overturned, only to find out that his spot in the field had already been given away.
(Image credit: Joost Luiten Instagram)
In a statement on Tuesday, the International Golf Federation said: “When the International Golf Federation (IGF) received notification of Joost…
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