Olympics: DP World Tour's Joost Luyten blames missed opportunities

fake.

I was surprised.

That's ridiculous.

These words describe Joost Luiten's situation in relation to the men's Olympic golf competition in Paris later this month.

But Luyten himself described what happened to him in clearer terms on Tuesday.

“It's all fake, they're hiding from each other,” Luyten told Handicap54, an Argentine golf website run by Mathias Miguel Torge.

“I haven't done anything wrong! I am being wronged because of someone else's mistakes and decisions!”

Last month, Associated Press reporter Doug Ferguson reported that the Dutch Olympic Committee would not allow the country's golfers to compete in the Paris Olympics. The committee chose not to include two men, including Luiten, and one woman because they didn't think the Dutch had a chance to win a medal in the 60-player field.

But the 38-year-old Luiten has eight career DP World Tour wins and eight PGA Championship appearances, with his best result being a tie for 21st at Kiawah Island in 2012. He played in all four majors in 2014 and 2015 and tied for 27th at the 2016 Summer Olympics. This is the last time the Dutch federation has sent a player to the quadrennial event. The Netherlands did the same in 2021 when Tokyo hosted the Olympics after they were postponed due to COVID-19.

Photo: Harry Howe/Getty Images

To challenge the decision, the International Golf Federation (IGF) has written to the Dutch Olympic Committee.

“It is common for lower-ranked players to upset their current position and have a major impact at major tournaments,” Ferguson said in the IGF letter.

“There are plenty of examples of lower-ranked players in the OWGR doing well in big events.”

Luiten is a great example of this: he has had a history of success in major tournaments and has the talent to compete on the grandest stage.

A look at his current rankings suggests nothing less. As of July 8, Luyten is ranked 40th in the IGF rankings and 117th in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). There are 20 other Olympic golfers ranked lower than Luyten in the OWGR, giving them even better chances to perform well at Le Golf National in Paris.

The Dutch athletes understood this too, and decided to take their complaint to court at the end of last month. And last week Luiten won his case, posting on social media: “I will be competing in the Olympics. I am very happy with my legal victory. A huge thank you to my lawyers @snijders.advocaten. Without them I wouldn't be able to compete.”

A week later, the International Olympic Committee, through a statement from the IGF, denied Luiten's participation in the Paris Olympics.

“At the time the IGF received the Dutch court's ruling against Joost Luiten and the notification of his participation from the Dutch Olympic Committee, his unused qualifying spots had already been reallocated in accordance with the eligibility procedures published by the IGF,” the statement read.

“The IGF was not a party to the lawsuit brought by Luyten in the Netherlands. However, in support of Luyten, the IGF applied to the IOC for an exception to increase the field size in the men's Olympic golf event from 60 to 61 athletes to include Luyten. However, the IOC rejected the request on Tuesday. The IGF has informed Luyten of the IOC's decision, but Luyten has not told the IGF whether he intends to pursue the matter further.”

Luiten has done nothing wrong and yet he cannot play for his country. This is incredibly frustrating for the Dutchman who just wanted to try for a gold medal. But given how his country has treated him, does Luiten really want to wear a medal for his country at this point?

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.