Dutch Golfer Successfully Sues for Opportunity to Play in Paris Olympics

Joost Luiten was ranked high enough by Olympic standards but the Netherlands originally had decided against sending the DP World Tour player.

Joost Luiten sued for the opportunity to play for his native country at the Paris Olympics. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Thanks to a judge’s decision, Joost Luiten appears headed to the Olympic golf tournament after all.

The 38-year-old Dutch golfer, a six-time winner on the DP World Tour, was originally not going to compete in Paris despite meeting Olympic ranking criteria. A week ago, as first reported by the Associated Press, the Netherlands Golf Federation said it had met with the Dutch committee which oversees the Olympics and that the group didn’t feel that Luiten and other men’s players had a chance to compete for a medal.

Luiten was ranked No. 147 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the time of the decision and No. 40 in the International Golf Federation rankings (the latter are used to fill the 60-player Olympic fields), but the Dutch committee requires men’s golfers to be ranked inside the top 27 of the IGF rankings.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Rory Sabbatini won a silver medal for Slovakia despite coming in ranked 161st in the world and C.T. Pan of Taiwan, ranked 181st in the world, won a playoff for bronze. The Netherlands declined to send any male golfers to those games. 

Luiten competed in Rio in 2016, finishing in a tie for 27th, and sued for the right to return. His case was presented Tuesday in the Dutch city of Arnhem, and a judge ruled that the Dutch committee would have to immediately register him to compete in Paris or be fined.

Luiten shared the news on social media.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joost Luiten (@joostluitenofficial)

It was unclear Tuesday if the ruling would allow Darius Van Driel to also compete after being ruled out, he was 49th in the IGF ranking and 237th in the world. On the women’s side, Dewi Weber was denied a chance to play despite being 58th in the IGF ranking. She was 302nd in the world ranking.

The Dutch Olympic committee originally planned only to send Anne Van Dam, No. 34 in the IGF rankings and 108th in the world.

Luiten has been a pro for 18 years and his highest world ranking was 28th, in 2014. His best finish in a major is a T21 at the 2012 PGA Championship.