Joost Luiten added to Olympic golf substitutes list because of Dutch error

Dutch golfer Joost Luiten is back to play in the Olympics. He simply may not have a schedule to play golf in Paris.

In the latest twist in a strange saga, the International Golf Federation on Saturday placed Luiten on what amounts to the alternates list, while holding out hope that the International Olympic Committee will allow an extra player in the 60-player field.

The IOC has already denied this request.

The Dutch Olympic Committee has not submitted the names of Luiten or Darius Van Driel, along with Ladies European Tour player Demi Weber, for confirmation.

Your places in the 60-player fields were already filled when Luiten obtained a Dutch court order for it to be added to the men’s competition from August 1-4 at Le Golf National on the outskirts of Paris. The Dutch court, however, is not recognized by the IOC.

Luiten would not automatically enter the Paris Games if any player withdrew. It would have to be a situation where the next available player is ranked below him.

The IGF said in a statement that it “acknowledges that an error was made” by the Dutch Olympic Committee in its qualification criteria and in the process of confirming which athletes would compete at the Paris Games.

For the second consecutive Olympics, Dutch officials said they wouldn’t send golfers if they didn’t think they could finish in the top eight. If their Olympic ranking – based on the Official World Golf Ranking – was considered low, they wouldn’t go.

Luiten was eligible, but was left out of the Tokyo Games because he was not among the top 40 in the Olympic rankings nor among the top 100 in the world. He competed in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

Luiten was ranked 40th in this year’s Olympic rankings.

At issue is the change in Dutch criteria at the end of 2023 in which men could go if they were in the top 27. Otherwise, they would have to finish in the top eight in a tournament featuring five of the world’s top 50 players, or 10 of the top 100. The European tour rarely encounters such strong fields outside of its biggest events.

Luiten would have qualified under the previous criteria. This was brought to the attention of the Dutch Olympic Committee-Dutch Sports Federation. The IGF said it chose not to correct the error and removed the three golfers.

The NOC-NSF put forward Luiten’s name based on the July 2 court ruling, but that was four days after Luiten had already been replaced.

Luiten might have had better chances if he had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which the IOC recognizes. Unless the IOC changes its mind about a 61-player field, the best hope for 38-year-old Luiten is that the right player withdraws.

Luiten missed the cut at the Scottish Open and headed to Royal Troon, Scotland, for the British Open next week. He is a six-time European Tour winner.

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