“And honestly, that hurts,” said Dewi Weber after being denied to play at the Olympics by her own country. On June 25, the Netherlands said it would not allow Joost Luiten, Darius van Driel, and Dewi Weber to represent their country in Paris. Although they qualified to be a part of the national setup according to their OWGR ranks, they did not meet the additional national requirements laid out by their country’s Olympic Committee and Sports Federation.

In 2021, the committee in Tokyo established a rule stating that players must be ranked in the top 100 of the OWGR or the top 36 in the Olympic ranking to compete nationally. Luiten is currently at no. 40 in Olympic ranking and 147 on the OWGR list, while Driel is No. 50 and No. 237, respectively. Well, Weber was not going to rest easy unless she gave her answer to the committee. Here’s what she did.

Dewi Weber explains the federation’s decision

After going through several rounds of criticism, on June 14, Luoyang, van Driel, and Weber met with the federation and shared a statistical presentation representing why they could be potential winners at the Olympics. Luoyang even pointed out that Rory Sabbatini, from South African-Slovak, won a silver medal in 2021 Tokyo without a top-100 ranking.

Weber, who was already prepared after learning the data from the presentation, said the decision was rather specific. When it comes to the Olympics, bagging a top-8 finish is comparatively easier than on the PGA or LPGA Tour events. That is because there are only 60 players compared to the regular 144 or 156 players. She also pointed out that results vary according to grass types, climates, and hole designs at the golf course. While most times the best player on the OWGR bags the victory, there are often people winning from outside the top 100 as well.

Listening to this, the governing bodies decided to discuss the national selection criteria for the 2028 Olympics. They have promised to make it more realistic. However, this lone promise does not suffice for Dewi Weber, who has been dreaming of this moment all her life.

Her frustration continues. “Why don’t you change that for this year already? You admit that there have been mistakes that have been made because your original criteria weren’t conducive to the sport that we play. Not changing them then for this year makes no sense in my mind. Like, what does four years make a difference?” asked Weber.

While Weber could not be a part of the Olympics this year, Luiten fought his fight eminently and did come out victorious.

Joost Luiten wins court case against the Federation

Joost Luiten put up an Instagram post featuring the Olympic rings in all black and stated that he would be going to court to fight the federation’s decision. They have plans to forward the case in front of the judge and acquire a judgment from him. After winning the case, he put up the same five rings. This time, they were colorful.

He wrote, “The Olympic rings are colored again. I have WON the Court case and the @NOCNSF have to enter me before 5 PM today!!! LET’s GO @olympics”.

The Dutch court finally permitted the pro golfer to compete in the 2024 Olympics despite the federation rejecting their qualification. Do you think entering the 2028 Olympics will be easier for the Dutch golfers? Let us know in the comments section below!