(Reuters) – Dutch golfer Joost Luiten may have won a court case to get into the Paris Olympics but his unused quota spot has been filled and the International Olympic Committee will not make an exception, the International Golf Federation (IGF) said on Tuesday.
Luiten took the Netherlands’ National Olympic Committee to court last week after they denied him from entering the men’s golf event despite being eligible, believing his world ranking, which was 147th at the time, gave him little chance in a 60-player field.
But when the IGF, which uses the Official World Golf Ranking as a method of determining eligibility, received notification of Luiten’s court ruling in the Netherlands and his entry from the Netherlands’ National Olympic Committee his unused quota spot had already been reallocated.
“Nevertheless, in an effort to support Luiten, the IGF sought an exception from the IOC to increase the field size of the men’s Olympic golf competition from 60 to 61 competitors to include Luiten, however the request was denied by the IOC today,” the IGF said in a statement.
“The IGF has advised Luiten of the IOC’s decision, and he has not informed the IGF whether he intends to pursue this matter further.”
The top 15 world-ranked players are eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from a given country.
Beyond the top 15, players are eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.
Luiten is 40th in the Olympic rankings.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
