He’s now in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, but Joost Luiten says the confusion over why he was left out in the first place shows the DP World Tour’s entry system needs fixing.
The DP World Tour barely gives players a moment to catch their breath. One season ends in Dubai, the next begins almost immediately, and everyone’s either trying to carry good form forward or wipe the slate clean and start again. But while most pros have been hoping for a fast start to their 2026 campaign, Joost Luiten has found himself dragged into a new-season controversy before he’s even hit a shot.
A strong 2025 season saw the Dutchman finish 33rd in the Race to Dubai – good enough to qualify for the DP World Tour Championship, the hardest event on the schedule to get into, with just 52 spots available. Naturally, he assumed that earning a place in such an exclusive field meant he’d be heading straight into another high-profile, limited-field event to start 2026: the Nedbank Golf Challenge with its bumper $6 million prize fund.
He was wrong.
Left as first reserve – and furious
When the initial field list dropped, Luiten wasn’t in it. Despite 66 spots being available in Sun City – 14 more than the Tour Championship – he was on the outside looking in as first reserve.
His reaction on Instagram made it very clear he couldn’t understand how it had happened:
“Sitting as first reserve for the Nedbank Golf Challenge… honestly, it’s hard to understand.”
He pointed out the obvious inconsistency:
“Finishing 33rd on the Order of Merit… yet not getting into a smaller event with bigger field and more spots… I just don’t get it!”
The reason is buried in the qualification criteria. Any player who has won a DP World Tour event with a $2 million purse between 2024–2026 gets automatic entry. Despite Luiten’s strong form, his last victory came in 2018 – while several players who finished below him on the 2025 Race to Dubai ranking have won in that qualifying window, pushing them ahead of him in the Nedbank criteria.
Fellow pros didn’t hold back: “A disgrace”
If Luiten sounded frustrated but diplomatic, his fellow players went much further.
2025 BMW International Open winner Dan Brown was blunt:
“This is a disgrace… should be based off last season’s ranking.”
Brandon Robinson Thompson urged Luiten to “say it louder.”
Jorge Campillo noted that while Luiten hadn’t made the field, some LIV Golf pros had qualified:
“Must be nice seeing guys from LIV ahead of you that last win was in 2023,” he wrote.
Romain Langasque added that players had raised concerns about the qualification rules with the Tour already, only to be ignored:
“Agree 100%. We bring this up during player committee this year… but the tour didn’t want to change the way to qualify. Same for invitational in January.”
He got his place, but he’s not over it
After all the noise, Luiten finally received the news he’d been waiting for. A spot opened up, and he confirmed his place in the Nedbank field with a fresh Instagram post:
“Yes I am in. Very happy and looking forward to playing the Nedbank Golf Challenge.”
But if the Tour thought that would end the matter, Luiten had other ideas.
“That doesn’t mean everything is fine now,” he continued. “The way the entry criteria were handled and the way this entire decision was made by the DP World Tour is still wrong, inconsistent, and honestly impossible to explain.”
Bernd Wiesberger was quick to back Luiten’s view:
“I agree with you,” he commented. “Limited field events should purely be by OOM [Order of Merit] and not category system. Much fairer and rewards a great season over (maybe) one great week.”