July 21, 2023; Hoylake, ENGLAND, GBR; Joost Luiten plays on the fourth hole during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Liverpool. Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Joost Luiten Wins Court Case, Forces Netherlands to Reinstate Him for the Olympics

Originally posted on On Tap Sports Net | By Ross Baran | Last updated Jul 3, 2024 3:57 PM ET

Last week, news dropped that the Netherlands were making a controversial move in the Olympic golf tournament. The NOCNSF informed their players that due to the low chance of them medaling in the tournament. They would not be sending the three players to compete that qualified via Official World Golf Rankings points.

This quickly gained attention, with many spectators immediately siding with the players. For many, it is a dream just to compete in the Olympic games. That is where long time PGA Tour pro Joost Luiten took it a step further and took the NOCNSF to court for their decision.

Every Dog Has Its Day

Early Tuesday, news broke that Luiten, 38, has won his case and was to be reinstated by the NOCNSF by 5:00 pm on the Olympic roster. As of this writing, it is still unknown if the other two competitors will also be reinstated for the Netherlands team for next month's competition.

Joost Luiten is heading to the Olympics pic.twitter.com/SwA4YbdbiC
— Golf Monthly (@GolfMonthly) July 2, 2024

On Tap At The Tee

I could not love this move more. Personally, though humorous, I disagreed with the initial decision by the committee to not send the players. Netherlands cited that these golfers were outside of the top 100, meaning they likely will not medal. However, why wouldn't they want to compete for their home country in the Olympics?

This is where it becomes tough, mainly because in the previous Olympic tournament, the Silver medal went to the Slovakian Rory Sabbatini, the #161 player in the world at the time. Bronze went to C.T. Pan, the #181 player in the world at the time. Luiten, currently stands as the world's #151 this week.

Overall, I think the right decision was made and let's be honest, it is golf. Every dog can have their day at any point and time. But, what is most important in Luiten's mind is that he can go and represent his country on the world stage next month in Paris.

This article first appeared on On Tap Sports Net and was syndicated with permission.

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