Joost Luiten has won a court ruling to overturn a decision by the Netherlands Olympic Committee that would have barred him from competing in the Paris Games next month.
Luiten and two other Dutch qualifiers had been denied spots in the Paris Games because Netherlands Olympic officials decided that the trio had little chance in contending. Luiten, 38, a six-time winner on the DP World Tour, is No. 151 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“It's very painful when basically one or two people say you're not good enough when you've met the criteria,” Luiten said last week at the BMW International Open, where he tied for 52nd. “It just wasn’t fair.”
It was unclear how the decision might affect Darius van Driel and Dewi Weber, who also were denied by Dutch officials. Anne van Dam is the only one of four qualifiers from the Netherlands whom Dutch officials OK’d to compete. The International Golf Federation was expected to announce a finalized field on Tuesday for the games, which will be played August 1-4 (men) and August 7-10 (women) at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, west of Paris. READ MORE
Only two of the 60 men’s qualifiers have indicated that they intend to skip the Olympics next month in France, according to the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson. Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger and Chile’s Cristobal del Solar will not compete. READ MORE and MORE
Stuart franklin, geTty images
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, the world’s No. 2-ranked player, returns to Scotland this week to defend his title in the Genesis Scottish Open, a warmup for next week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will skip the Scottish Open, but No. 3 Xander Schauffele, the reigning PGA champion, was listed with No. 4 Wyndham Clark, No. 5 Ludvig Åberg, No. 6 Collin Morikawa and No. 7 Viktor Hovland in the field. The $9 million tournament at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick will be co-sponsored for the third consecutive year by the PGA and DP World tours.
In the U.S., the $4 million ISCO Championship at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky, also will be co-sponsored by both tours. READ MORE and MORE
Max McGreevy, a 29-year-old Oklahoman, secured exempt status for the 2025 PGA Tour season based on his second victory of the Korn Ferry Tour season, at the recent Memorial Health Championship. Steven Fisk, a 27-year-old Georgian who finished one stroke behind McGreevy at Springfield, Illinois, also clinched a 2025 PGA Tour card on a developmental tour that will promote its top 30 on the KFT points list. READ MORE and MORE
Justin Rose was among 16 qualifiers for the Open Championship during final qualifying at four sites last week in the United Kingdom. The 152nd Open will be played July 18-21 at Royal Troon in Scotland. READ MORE
England’s Richard Bland had competed in professional golf for 25 years before, at age 48, notching his first victory on a major professional tour, at the 2021 British Masters. Since then, Bland joined LIV Golf and continued his quest to win again. Now, he has broken through twice in recent weeks by winning consecutive Champions Tour major titles: the Senior PGA and the U.S. Senior Open in a span of five weeks.
Bland holed a chip shot on the fourth playoff hole to win the rain-delayed U.S. Senior Open on July 2 at Newport (Rhode Island) Country Club.
“I was just hoping going into the PGA that I was good enough to contend,” said Bland, who plays for LIV’s Cleeks team. “I hadn’t played against these guys. But to be here with two majors – I’m at a loss for words at the moment.” READ MORE
Leona Maguire became the first Irishwoman to win on the Ladies European Tour when she sank an 8-foot eagle putt on the final hole on July 5 to clip Spain’s Maria Hernandez by one stroke in the Aramco Team Series London event at the Centurion Club.
“That putt was for me, that putt was for my family, and that putt was for Ireland,” Maguire said. “It was a proud moment.”
Maguire, 29, a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour who starred in college at Duke, enters this week’s Evian Championship with only one top-10 result in 13 starts on the LPGA this year, a runner-up at the T-Mobile Match Play. Since turning pro in 2018, she has three top-10 results in 22 major championships. READ MORE
Charley Hull withdrew after six holes of the first round of last week’s Aramco Team Series London event, citing pain in her right shoulder, Sky Sports reported. Her status for this week’s Evian Championship was uncertain. READ MORE
The LPGA’s Dana Open has dedicated Friday, July 19 as “Lexi Thompson Day,” tournament organizers announced. READ MORE
TAP-INS
The ISPS Handa Australian Open will return to Melbourne’s Sandbelt region, Golf Australia announced. The tournament, which will feature a combined format of men’s, women’s and all-abilities fields, will be played November 28-December 1 at Kingston Heath Golf Club, with Victoria Golf Club co-hosting the event in rounds 1-2. The men’s tournament is part of the DP World Tour schedule and will follow the annual Australian PGA one week earlier at Royal Queensland. READ MORE
Tiger Woods and entertainer Justin Timberlake won approval to convert an historic theater in St. Andrews, Scotland, into a sports-themed bar and restaurant, according to media reports. The American duo intend to replicate their T-Squared Social brand, which has its initial location in New York’s Manhattan borough, in the former New Picture House cinema. READ MORE
The Asian Tour announced its Q-School schedule, including two first-stage fall events in the U.S., in California and Florida. The 90-hole final stage will be held December 17-21 at Lakeview Resort in Hua Hin, Thailand, and award 2025 season exemptions to the top 35 finishers. READ MORE
Compiled by Steve Harmon