The roller coaster ride of Joost Luiten trying to play in the Paris Olympics continued Saturday.
Luiten originally qualified for the men’s golf competition at the Olympics before the Dutch Olympic Committee-Dutch Sports Federation denied his spot because he did not meet its criteria.
Luiten then went to court and won, saying he should be allowed to compete. The problem was, the International Olympic Committee already filled his spot.
The International Golf Federation requested the IOC expand the field to 61 players to allow Luiten to play. While that was denied, the IGF said Saturday Luiten was added to the reallocation list.
“The International Golf Federation recognises an error was made by the Dutch NOC-NSF with its qualification criteria and subsequently during the confirmation process for men’s Olympic golf qualifier Joost Luiten,” the IGF’s statement said. “This error was confirmed via legal process, though only after the field for the men’s Olympic golf competition was finalized pursuant to the IGF’s published qualification procedures.”
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Luiten’s only chance to compete in the games would be if another player withdraws, depending on their country.
Darius van Driel and Dewi Weber were two other Dutch athletes who earned spots in the Paris games but had their spots taken away because of the NOC-NSF decision saying the committee didn’t believe they could finish in the top eight.
The men’s competition is set for Aug. 1-4 at Le Golf National in Paris.
