“A sad day for Dutch golf,” said Darius van Driel in his latest Instagram post. But why’s that? Well, the answer lies with the latest decision of the Dutch Sports Federation. Despite qualifying through the OGR ranks based on their performance and country criteria, three Dutch golfers—Joost Luiten, Dewi Weber, and Darius van Driel—are now denied entry, even though they are eligible to represent the Netherlands.

According to the latest reports, the Dutch Sports Federation has denied these players the opportunity to compete at Le Golf National, citing their belief that these players lack the potential to finish in the ‘top eight’ at the Olympics. It’s surprising, isn’t it? Unfortunately, that’s the only reason the Dutch Sports Federation has given for denying their entry: “After a careful analysis of the results in golf, it has become clear that the requirement from the IOC does not provide sufficient prospect of achieving a position in the top eight of the field,” as revealed on Golf Magic.

Expressing disappointment over this matter, Dutch golfer Darius van Driel shared a post on Instagram captioning “No Olympics for Joost Luiten, Dewi Weber and myself although we qualified. The @nocnsf doesn’t have a clue about golf and it’s a shame we’re suffering now. We’re not going because of political reasons.” After this, the pro further highlighted that this was an “absurd” mistake from the Netherlands Olympic Committee as they decided to approve this.

Joost Luiten is a six-time winner on the DP World Tour; meanwhile, Dewi Weber qualified for the Olympics using OGR criteria. For now, van Dam is the only sole Dutch golf representative for the Women’s Golf at the 2024 Olympics. As for van Driel, he is a one-time winner on the DP world tour and was exempted from playing thanks to his T12 finish at Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed and other tournament performances.

Luiten also shared a similar post on Instagram, sharing his disappointment toward the federation and captioning, “I am very sad to say I will not play the 2024 Olympics. The @nocnsf wil not send me even though I have qualified by the international golf federations criteria and the Olympic criteria.” While discussing this, he mentioned that he has finished in the top 10 nearly 20% of the time in 156-man fields.

In the 2023 season, this figure was 25%, and he has over 18 years of experience. Despite these impressive stats, the federation still believes he doesn’t have a chance to finish in the top 8. The golfer also talked about this with golf magic and said, “It is complete bullsh*t, the criteria they have since the start of the Olympics. I’ve been fighting with them for years now and they still don’t get it.”

Just like Luiten and Driel, the news is disappointing for Dewi Weber, and expressing sadness over the matter, she said, “Our own country is saying we don’t think you’re worthy of being an Olympian, and you’re not worthy of representing the Netherlands,” to Golf Digest. Although she was prepared to fund herself, the statements from officials broke her heart.

She added further “That is such a hurtful and sad message to send to elite athletes like us who have proven, according to the IOC and IGF standards, that we are worthy of doing that, and we want nothing more than to represent our country and do all the things that the Olympics are about.”

Following this revelation, the community is lashing out at the Dutch Sports Federation for making their decision based solely on the speculation that top golfers like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy would overshadow the Dutch players’ chances. As the post went viral, the comment section quickly filled with the community’s anger.

Fans disagree with the Dutch Sports Federation’s decision

The Olympics have various criteria aside from the OWGR rankings to give every player the chance to fulfill their patriotic dream and to grow the game worldwide, probably alluding to this fact: “Absolutely ridiculous not a good look for the federation! Not about growing the game clearly.“ Highlighting that instead of giving a chance to elite athletes, the federation is stopping the players based on speculation alone.

But the rumors are also without merit since Slovakia’s Rory Sabbatini won a silver medal at the 2020 Olympic Golf Tournament. And based on this, the fan also thinks the officials’ decision is “Absurd!” While many people are simply calling it “Outrageous!” and some even said it’s “Such a shame. Terrible decision.”

The gap between each Olympics is four and a half years, and since golf was included, there have only been two Olympic Games. It’s certainly disappointing to miss out on this opportunity. Reflecting the sadness of these golfers, one fan commented “Soo sad for you guys.”

What do you think about this decision from the Dutch Sports Federation? Share your thoughts in the comments below!