“I'm the one who is f***ed” - Joost Luiten tears into ‘annoying’ golf officials keeping him from competing the Paris Olympics

Joost Luiten has slammed the golf officials after being denied a spot in the Paris Olympics. He said it was annoying not to get the berth, despite the court ruling in his favor.

Last month, the final list of Paris Olympic qualifiers was announced, and Joost Luiten had finished 40th in the men's ranking for the Olympics. He was also the top-ranked player in his country. However, the Dutch golf officials snubbed him and two more players, stating that they weren't good enough to challenge the top players in the world.

Luiten, who was in Royal Troon for the Open Championship, spoke to the media after missing the cut on Friday, July 19. He said he took the case to the Netherlands court and won it after spending $20,000. However, the International Olympic Committee still didn't give him the spot, as the other 60 players had already locked their places.

"I'm the one who is out. I’m the one who is f***ed," Luiten was quoted as saying via Golfweek. "I'm over it now. I spent a lot of money on a court case to win it and then you win it and then they say, f*** it, you’re still not in because someone else f***ed up. That’s the annoying thing."

Joost Luiten further stated that it was one mistake after another from different officials, but no one wanted to own it, leaving him in a helpless situation. He revealed that he had already told the IGF not to give away his spot as he was going to fight in court. However, they snubbed him and proceeded, citing the protocols.

"They all point to each other," he continued. "They’re just a bunch of amateurs. They think they run a professional golf event but you can see it’s the Olympics, it’s run by amateurs."

The 38-year-old Dutch veteran insisted that Olympic golf should be made an amateur event.

"If you let amateurs decide for professional golfers then you get some weird rulings and whatever. That’s what happened in Holland with me. You’ve got a bunch of amateurs making the rules for professional golf events. That’s the way the Olympics started and that’s the way it should be," he added.

---

How did Joost Luiten perform at the Open Championship 2024?

Joost Luiten failed to make it to the weekend at the Open Championship 2024 after missing the cut by three strokes. The cutline was set at 6-over after 36 holes, but he aggregated at 9-over after shooting 75 and 76 in two days at Royal Troon.

Luiten made just three birdies in the 36 holes but ended up bogeying five holes. He also made two double bogeys and one triple bogey in the two rounds. This was his fifth missed cut in ten starts at the Open Championship. Overall, he has made just 12 cuts in 25 appearances at major championships.