Brutal reason why Olympic nation has denied golfers chance to realise their dream in Paris as ‘stupid rule’ is exposed

The Dutch Olympic officials are keeping two male and one female golfers at home from the golf competition in Paris. They feel that their world ranking is too low to have a realistic chance against a field of 60 players.

The Dutch Golf Federation said Tuesday it presented “extensive arguments and data” at a June 14 meeting with the Dutch committee that oversees the Olympics, hoping to show unique differences in golf compared to other sports.

“According to them, it has not been demonstrated that there is a reasonable chance of a top-eight ranking during the Olympic Games,” the NGF said in a statement.

The decision means that Joost Luiten and Darius Van Driel will not be going to Paris. It is the second Olympic Games in a row where Dutch officials have kept golfers at home because they are not in the world’s top 100.

The most telling thing about the Dutch decision is what happened at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Rory Sabbatini qualified No. 161 in the world rankings and shot 61 in the final round to win the silver medal on a historic day for Slovak golf.

Taiwan’s CT Pan won a seven-man play-off – including Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa – to win the bronze. Pan qualified at number 181 in the world.

Olympic qualification is based on the official world golf rankings. Countries are allowed to have two players (four if they are all in the top 15) until the field of 60 players is filled.

For the Games in Tokyo, the Netherlands had set the standard that players would belong to the top 100 in the world or the top 36 of the Olympic rankings. Luiten was number 177 and Wil Besseling was number 221 when qualifying ended.

Darius Van Driel is one of the male golfers who will not realize their Olympic dream

This year, Luiten was ranked number 40 in the Olympic rankings, with a world ranking of number 147.

Anne Van Dam, No. 108 in the women’s world rankings and No. 34 in the Olympic rankings, will be the only Dutch golfer. The Dutch Olympic Committee will not send Dewi Weber, number 302 in the world.

The 38-year-old Luiten is a six-time winner on the European tour and has qualified for 21 majors – including the Masters twice – and last year finished tied for 71st at the British Open.

Due to the absence of Dutch golfers, the male players will be replaced by Joel Girrbach from Switzerland (No. 366 in the world) and Tapio Pulkkanen from Finland (No. 378) from the redistribution reserve list.

In an interview two summers ago at the US Open, where he finished 56th at The Country Club, Besseling had hoped that the Dutch officials would change the criteria. He said it was a “stupid rule to make.”

The International Golf Federation sent a detailed letter in support of the Dutch golfers before the June 14 meeting, attempting to explain that the margins in golf are so thin that players far outside the top 100 can win in a given week.

Dutch Olympic officials think that golfers like Joost Luiten have no chance of winning a medal

This despite the fact that outsider Rory Sabbatini (right) won silver in Tokyo

“It is common for lower-ranked players to make a significant impact in major tournaments, defying their current rankings,” the IGF letter said. ‘There are numerous examples of players ranked lower on OWGR performing well at major events.’

Seven players ranked outside the world’s top 100 won PGA Tour events this year that awarded full FedEx Cup points. That list includes Nick Dunlap, an amateur who was still in college when he won The American Express against a field that included Scottie Scheffler.

The Dutch committee – formally the Dutch Olympic Committee/Dutch Sports Federation – has tightened the criteria for sending golfers to the 2024 Olympic Games.

For men, anyone who finishes outside the top 27 in the Olympic rankings must achieve a top 8 finish in a tournament, provided that tournament has five players from the top 50 in the world or 10 from the top 100. Anything less would require a top 4 finish.

The European tour, where Luiten and Van Driel play, rarely gets so much out of the top 100 on a world ranking that has shifted more strongly towards the PGA Tour in the past year.

Luiten has five top-20 finishes this year, including a tie for 14th at the Dubai Invitational, where Tommy Fleetwood defeated McIlroy by one shot.

Van Driel won the Magical Kenya Open in February for his first win on the European tour. That tournament had only two players from the top 100.