They protest the exclusion from the event with big money: ‘Shame’

The world of professional golf is cutthroat, and even some of the best players have to struggle on tournament courses. Joost Luiten successfully fought his way to PD World Tournament Championship earlier this month. But he was not so lucky for another future DP World Tour event.

After being left out of the big-money Nedbank Golf Challenge, Luiten took to Instagram to express his disbelief and dismay, and some of his fellow European pros joined in to support and criticize the tournament.

Here’s what you need to know.

Joost Luiten condemns lack of Nedbank challenge: ‘Hard to understand’

The hardest field to break into on the DP World Tour is the DP World Championship. That was no problem for veteran Joost Luiten.

Throughout the 2025 season, Luiten collected three top-5 finishes and earned enough Race to Dubai points to be one of only 52 players to qualify for the event.

By the end of the season, he had fallen to 33rd in the season standings. Nedbank Golf Challenge in honor of Gary Player begins on December 4 and is part of the 2026 season. While there is a limited field, the current limit is 66 players, 14 more than the DP Tour World Championship.

Despite this, Luiten currently finds himself as first reserve for the tournament. To make matters worse, Nedbank holds one of the biggest DP World Tour purses of the year at $6 million.

In an Instagram post over the weekend, Luiten lamented his position and expressed confusion over how he didn’t qualify.

“Standing as the first reserve for the Nedbank Golf Challenge… honestly, it’s hard to fathom,” Luiten wrote.

“Finishing 33rd on the Order of Merit, earning a spot in the biggest tournament of the 2025 PD World Tour Championship, but not participating in a smaller event with a bigger field and more places than the Tour Championship! I just don’t get it!” Luiten continued. “Hard to understand or explain how @dpworldtour makes these decisions.”

Luiten’s exemption depends on eligibility criteria. For example, any player who has won a DP World Tour event with a $2 million purse from 2024-2026 qualifies for the Nedbank Golf Challenge. Although Luiten has won six career DP World Tour titles, his last came in 2018.

Meanwhile, several players who finished worse than Luite in the 2025 Race to Dubai rankings have won since 2024, putting them above Luite in the field qualification system.

Other protesters protest the exclusion of the Luiten DP World Tour

While Luiten was open and honest about his predicament on Instagram, he remained diplomatic with his comments. But some of his fellow professionals did not.

After Luiten had posted his lengthy complaint on Instagramseveral DP World Tour players responded to the post expressing their support for Luite.

Pro Dan Brown called the decision a “disgrace.”

“This is a shame, should be based on last season’s rankings,” Brown wrote in a response. “Reward those who have played the best golf all season and not just for one week of the year…”

DP World Tour pro Brandon Robinson Thompson encouraged Luiten to “say it louder.”

Fellow pro Jorge Campillo noted that while Luiten has not taken the field, several LIV Golf pros have qualified.

“Must be good to see guys from LIV ahead of you last win was in 2023,” Campillo wrote.

French pro Romain Langasque wrote, “I agree 100%. We mentioned this during the player committee this year… but the tournament didn’t want to change the way to qualify. Same for the invitation in January.”

In the end, Luiten is taking it easy. He noted that he is proud of his results this past season and he hopes someone will step down and allow him to play at Nedbank.

“I’m proud of the season I’ve had and the progress I’ve made, and I’m ready to play. Hopefully a spot opens up, but whatever it is, I’ll keep moving forward in 2026.”

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