Dutch Olympic officials are keeping home two male and one female players from the golf competition in Paris.
—
DutchOlympicofficialsarekeepinghometwomaleandonefemaleplayersfromthegolfcompetitioninParisbecausetheybelievetheirworldrankingistoolowforthemtohavearealisticchanceagainst60-playerfields.
TheNetherlandsGolfFederationsaidTuesdayitpresented“extensiveargumentsanddata”inaJune14meetingwiththeDutchcommitteethatoverseestheOlympics,hopefulofshowinguniquedifferencesingolfcomparedwithothersports.
“Accordingtothem,ithasnotbeendemonstratedthatthereisareasonablechanceofatop-eightrankingduringtheOlympicGames,”theNGFsaidinastatement.
ThedecisionmeansJoostLuitenandDariusVanDrielwillnotbegoingtoParis.It’sthesecondstraightOlympicsthatDutchofficialshavekeptgolfershomefornotbeingrankedamongthetop100intheworld.
MosttellingabouttheDutchdecisioniswhathappenedattheTokyoOlympics.RorySabbatiniqualifiedatNo.161intheworldandshot61inthefinalroundtowinthesilvermedalinahistoricdayforSlovakiangolf.
C.T.PanofTaiwa
