Dutch golfer Joost Luiten named alternate for Paris Olympics after snub, legal win
There’s a chance that Joost Luiten may get to compete in Paris after all.
The Dutch golfer, who was denied entry to the Paris Olympics after winning a court case in the Netherlands to gain entry, was officially added to the alternate list for the men’s competition on Saturday.
Luiten was one of four golfers from the Netherlands who qualified for a spot in the Olympics, however the country opted to only send Anne van Dam to the Games — as they felt she was the only one who had a realistic chance to medal in France. That meant that Luiten, Darius Van Driel and Dewi Weber, despite qualifying, were not submitted to the Games.
While Luiten actually took the Dutch Olympic Committee to court over the issue and won, the court isn’t recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The IOC said earlier this week that it wouldn’t expand the field to include Luiten despite his legal win, and the International Golf Federation had already filled up the field without Luiten.
Naturally, Luiten was not happy when that news came down on Tuesday.
"I can't take the Olympics (IOC) serious anymore! If you way [sic] the fundamentals of the Olympic games are about integrity, fair play and respect, you are all lies!" he wrote on Instagram, in part. "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!!"
While Luiten is now on the alternate list, he will only get to play in Paris if he is the next highest-ranked player available once someone withdraws.
Luiten, 38, has won six times on the DP World Tour in his career. His most recent win came at the NBO Oman Open in 2018. He was No. 40 in the Olympics rankings when those closed, and he currently sits at No. 159 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Luiten missed the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open this week.
The top 15 golfers in the OWGR at the end of the qualifying period automatically earned a spot in the field, though each country can only send a maximum of four golfers. Then, the rest of the field is made up of the next two eligible golfers from each country — as long as they don’t have two or more golfers inside the top 15 already. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa will represent the United States in Paris on the men’s side, and Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang will compete on the women’s side.
Le Golf National, which was the site of the 2018 Ryder Cup, will host both tournaments in the Olympics. The men's event kicks off on Aug. 1, and the women's will follow starting on Aug. 7.
