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Dutch Olympic golf drama takes another strange twist; Joost Luiten says ‘You are all lies!’ – Australian Golf Digest

Dutch Olympic golf drama takes another strange twist; Joost Luiten says ‘You are all lies!’ – Australian Golf Digest

[PHOTO: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images]

Joost Luiten is out of the Olympics. Again.

First, the Dutchman had rightfully qualified for the upcoming Paris Olympics. Then, the six-time DP World Tour winner was out when his country’s organising bodies deemed him not competitive enough to send. Then he seemingly was back in when a Netherlands court ruled that he should be included. Now, Luiten is apparently out again because of a ruling by the International Olympic Committee that went against the wishes of the International Golf Federation.

The IGF made the announcement about Luiten’s status on Tuesday, European time, reporting that Luiten’s “unused quota spot had already been re-allocated pursuant to the IGF’s published qualification procedures”. It was Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen who replaced Luiten in the 60-man Olympic field when the deadline arrived.

In its statement, the IGF, which was not part of Luiten’s court case in the Netherlands, said it asked the IOC to increase the field size of the competition to 61, but the IOC officially denied that request on Tuesday. “The IGF has advised Luiten of the IOC’s decision,” the statement read, “and he has not informed the IGF whether he intends to pursue this matter further.”

Luiten responded to the news on Tuesday night in Europe with this post on Instagram, accompanied by the Olympic rings with a black X over them:

“After winning the court case against the @NOCNSF, the @IOC has decided not to let me play at @Olympics in Paris! I can’t take The Olympics (IOC) serieus [sic] anymore! If you say the fundamentals of the olympic games are about INTEGRITY, FAIRPLAY and RESPECT you are all lies!

“Even though I have been qualified by their own rules and entered before the entry deadline! They don’t let me play!

“They don’t take the Dutch law as there [sic] jurisdiction and my spot in The Olympics had already been given away to somebody else because the @NOCNSF withdrew me early! Now they don’t want to give me my spot back!!!

“I don’t see any fairplay or respect from the IOC, so how can they say The Olympic games are build [sic] on those fundamentals?? It is all POLITICS and all they care about is that they have their own party at the olympics with their mates!!”

Luiten, who has posted regularly on social media about his Olympic plight, had not posted anything further on Instagram as of Wednesday morning, Australian time.