Joost Luiten is set to compete in the men's golf competition at this summer's Olympic Games in Paris after a court determined that he should be allowed to represent the Netherlands.
Last week, it was announced the six-time DP World Tour winner was one of three Dutch golfers who the Netherlands Olympic Committee and Dutch Sports Federations (NOC*NSF) would not send to the Games despite meeting the qualifying criteria set out by the International Olympic Committee and International Golf Federation. The NOC*NSF have their own separate criteria, noted as a good chance to finish top eight, which had led to their decision not to send Luiten and fellow qualified athletes Darius van Driel and Dewi Weber.
However, in a post on his Instagram account on Tuesday, Luiten revealed he had successfully appealed that decision through a Court case, and will now be able to compete at Le Golf National from August 1-4. It will be Luiten's second Olympics, having competed in Rio in 2016, when the sport returned to the Games after a 112-year absence.
The social media post read: “The Olympic rings are colored again. I have WON the Court case and the @NOCNSF have to enter me before 5PM today!!! LET’s GO @olympics”
Speaking on site at the BMW International Open, Luiten elaborated further.
"It basically started last Friday. A week ago I heard I wasn't going to the Olympics, they wouldn't let me go, they said I wasn't good enough.
"I thought about that for a couple of days and I thought what can I do and I thought I'm going to take some legal action and found a lawyer, a good one, and we started last Friday trying to see if we actually have a case that holds up in court. We thought we had, and yesterday there was the court day, and we won.
"I love sports and the Olympics is the biggest sport event in the world. Golfers understand Majors but people that don't play golf, they don't understand the Majors they understand the Olympics, and it's just something that I want to be a part of. I've been a part of it in Rio in 2016, and I wanted to be a part of it again, and then it's very painful when basically one or two people say you're not good enough when you've met the criteria. It just wasn't fair, and it was great that the judge saw that as well and that it shows that they can't do whatever they want. They still need to explain why they are making certain decisions, and I think that's the good thing about this."
On Wednesday morning, a statement from the International Golf Federation read: "The International Golf Federation (IGF) is aware of Tuesday’s, 2 July, court decision to allow Joost Luiten – who qualified for the men’s Olympic golf competition after finishing No. 40 in the final men’s Olympic Golf Ranking – to compete in the men’s Olympic golf competition at Paris 2024.
"The IGF is pleased to share that Luiten was confirmed by the Dutch Olympic Committee and Dutch Sports Federations (NOC*NSF) to compete in the men’s Olympic golf competition.
"On Tuesday, 9 July, the IGF will announce the finalised field lists for the men’s and women’s Olympic golf competitions."
Anne van Dam was already confirmed to represent the Netherlands in the women's competition, being held at the same venue from August 7-10.
