It had been up in the air for a while: the big question was whether Anne van Dam would meet any of the other Dutch golfers in Paris. Until now, Van Dam was the only one who had qualified according to the additional requirements of the Dutch sports association NOC*NSF.
Qualification period closed
The qualifying period for the Olympic Games in Paris recently ended. The Dutch top golfers Joost Luiten, Darius van Driel and Dewi Weber do meet the international requirements of the IOC, but not the additional national requirements of NOC*NSF.
Data and arguments
On Friday, June 14, a delegation from the NGF grabbed one last straw to convince NOC*NSF. In the presence of Joost Luiten, arguments and data were presented to advocate the broadcast of Luiten, Van Driel and Weber. In addition, golf-specific information was shared to clarify the unique characteristics of the sport of golf.
Despite these efforts, unfortunately no additional Dutch golfers will appear at the start in Paris. “NOC*NSF believes that there are insufficient grounds to deviate from the national criteria. According to the sports association, no reasonable chance of a top 8 ranking in the Olympic Games has been demonstrated”, according to the NGF. The players involved have now been informed of the decision by the NGF and they are also disappointed.
NGF and NOC*NSF have agreed to base the national selection criteria for the 2028 Olympic Games more on the specific aspects of golf
New opportunities in 2028?
However, the NOC*NSF requirements for the 2024 Games were not identical to the requirements for the 2020 and 2016 Games. After consultation between NOC*NSF and NGF in the autumn of 2023, Dutch golfers were given an additional opportunity to qualify for the Games in Paris. Qualification was also possible if the Dutch finished in the top 8 in a predetermined tournament with a strong field of participants. In this way, Anne van Dam qualified for the Games in Paris: she came second in the Andalucía Costa del Sol – Open de España in November 2023.
The NGF and the NOC*NSF have agreed to establish the national selection criteria for the 2028 Olympic Games on a different, more realistic basis, based more on the specific aspects of golf.
Second time for Anne van Dam
It will be the second time for Van Dam to participate in the Olympic golf championship. It will be played at Le Golf National near Paris. The men will play from August 1 to 4, 2024 and the women from August 7 to 10, 2024.
Van Dam was the first Dutch golfer to qualify for the Olympic Games in 2021. That was an important step in the development of Dutch women’s golf. She came 57th in the field of 60 participants at the time. Joost Luiten qualified one Olympic cycle earlier for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. He was the first Dutch player in history to represent our country. Luiten was tied for 27th.
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