Joost Luiten fuming with DP World Tour after seeing he's not in field for $6m event

Joost Luiten is fuming with the DP World Tour after not currently being eligible to compete in the $6m Nedbank Golf Challenge from 4-7 December.

The Nedbank Golf Challenge is set to be the third stop on the new 2026 DP World Tour season, which gets underway at this week’s Australian PGA Championship.

The Nedbank Golf Challenge will once again return to the iconic Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa. 

But despite its prestige, the event has already stirred controversy—most notably from Holland’s Luiten, who is furious about not yet securing a place in the field.

Luiten, a six-time DP World Tour winner, took to Instagram to vent his frustration at the DP World Tour after discovering he is currently ineligible for entry.

Finishing 33rd in the 2025 DP World Tour Rankings, Luiten believes his season-long performance should have comfortably earned him a place in the field.

In Luiten's Instagram post, which you can read in full below, he shared an image showing himself just outside the qualification cut-off before posting a strongly worded message:

Sitting as first reserve for the Nedbank Golf Challenge… honestly, it’s hard to understand.

Finishing 33rd on the Order of Merit, earning a place in the biggest tournament of 2025 DP World Tour Championship, yet not getting into a smaller event with bigger field and more spots then the tour chamoionship! I just don’t get it!

Hard to understand or explain how the @dpworldtour worldtour makes those decisions🤷🏻‍♂️

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 either way, I’ll keep pushing forward in 2026

#dpworldtour #weird #decisions #2026 #crazy @nedbankgolfchallenge

Luiten wasn’t alone in his criticism. 

Fellow DP World Tour player Brandon Robinson Thompson, who is also on the outside looking in for the Nedbank Golf Challenge, esponded to the post with his support, simply writing: "Say it louder".

English pro Dan Brown, who is in the Nedbank field, also backed Luiten’s stance. 

Brown replied: "This is a disgrace, should be based off last seasons ranking. 

"Reward those who have played the best golf throughout the entire season and not just done it for one week of the year…"

Brown himself recently missed out on a PGA Tour card for the 2026 season, but that situation could soon change. 

Laurie Canter is widely expected to join LIV Golf next year—likely signing with the Majesticks—which means he would forfeit the PGA Tour status he earned via the DP World Tour Rankings in 2025. 

If that happens, the vacant PGA Tour card would pass to the next eligible player on the list: Dan Brown.

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