Professional career
After a failed bid for a European Tour card at Qualifying School in late 2006, Luiten started his professional career on the EPD Tour where he claimed second place twice in just four starts.
Reaching the final stage of Q School gave him limited status on the 2007 Challenge Tour. He made his first start at the Tusker Kenya Open, where he birdied the 72nd hole for a share of tenth place. This was enough to earn himself a start in the next tournament, where he finished third. In his third start, he won the A.G.F. Allianz Golf Open de Toulouse. [5] A month later he won the Vodafone Challenge, setting a record for lowest final round by a Challenge Tour winner with a 61 (−11). [6] He went on to finish sixth in the 2007 Challenge Tour rankings and receive a European Tour card for 2008, [7] in addition to finishing second at the European Tour's KLM Open in August 2007. [8]
In January 2008, Luiten reached the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time. He claimed two top-10 finishes on the European Tour before a wrist injury curtailed his season. He returned from injury in late 2009 and played the start of the 2010 season on a minor medical exemption, securing his card for the rest of 2010 with a top-ten finish at the Joburg Open. He finished the season 28th on the Race to Dubai, aided by a late run of three straight top-five finishes.
In November 2011, Luiten won his first tournament on the European Tour with a victory in the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia, which also gave him his highest world ranking position to that point, at 66th. [9] He finished in the top 30 of the Race to Dubai for the second consecutive year, ranked 24th.
Luiten won for the second time on the European Tour in June 2013 at the Lyoness Open in Austria. He took a three stroke advantage into the final round and shot a one-under-par 71 to finish two ahead of Thomas Bjørn. He became only the second player from the Netherlands to record multiple European Tour victories, after Robert-Jan Derksen. [10]
In 2014, Luiten won the ISPS Handa Wales Open [11] and finished third at the Volvo Golf Champions, sixth at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, fourth at the Open de España, third at the Lyoness Open and third at the Volvo World Match Play Championship. By the end of November, he reached 28th in the Official World Golf Ranking, the high ranking in his career. He also played in the United States, finishing 13th at the WGC-Cadillac Championship and 26th at the Masters Tournament and PGA Championship.
In the first half of 2016 Luiten collected eight top-10 finishes in 15 events, with second places in consecutive weeks at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España and the Shenzhen International. In August, he represented Netherlands at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing tied for the 27th place. [12] The following month, he went on to win for the second time the KLM Open, matching the course record with an 8-under par 63 on the final round. [13]
In February 2018, Luiten won the NBO Oman Open, beating Chris Wood by two shots. [14]
2024 Olympics controversy
In June 2024, Luiten qualified to play in the 2024 Summer Olympics via his world ranking (147). The Dutch Olympic Committee did not allow him and Darius van Driel (ranked 237) to participate since they required their participants to be ranked in the top 27 of the Olympic Golf Ranking and have "a realistic chance at a medal". [15] Luiten initially appealed against the Dutch Olympic Committee for prohibiting him to play, considering that he was eligible. He won the appeal. [16] However, Luiten was denied access to play due to his initial entry being removed by the Dutch Olympic Committee and his place being taken by Tapio Pulkkanen. [17]
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