Dutch professional golfer Joost Luiten won a court case against the Netherlands Olympic Committee and Netherlands Sports Federation, which denied him the right to compete in the Paris Olympics.
On Tuesday, Luiten posted a black Olympic flag on his social media account, later replacing it with a regular Olympic flag.
Under the picture, he wrote, “I’m happy to have won the legal battle. I can go to the Olympics again.”
Luiten will be making his second consecutive appearance at the Olympics following the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
After the US Open, Luiten secured his place at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics with a world ranking (OWGR) of 147 and an Olympic ranking of 40.
However, the Netherlands Olympic Committee and Netherlands Sports Federation did not approve the participation of three national players, including Luiten, arguing they would not have a chance of finishing in the top 8 at the Olympics.
The only player they approved for participation was Anne Van Dam from the women’s golf, who ranks 108th in the Women’s World Golf Rankings (Rolex Rankings) and 34th in the Olympic rankings.
After a legal battle, Luiten secured his participation rights with the support of the Netherlands Golf Federation (NGF) and the International Golf Federation (IGF).
It’s common for lower-ranked players to achieve surprising results at major tournaments,” stated IGF in the press release, supporting Luiten’s bid to participate in the Olympics.
At the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Slovak professional golfer Rory Sabbatini, ranked 161st in the world, won a silver medal, while Pan Cheng-tsung of Taiwan, ranked 181st, took home a bronze medal.
The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics men’s golf competition will be held over four days from Aug. 1- 4 at the Le Golf National in Paris, France. The women’s competition will also occur at the same venue from 7-10.
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