One Month After Ryder Cup Snub, Adrian Meronk Wins on DP World Tour
Adrian Meronk has moved past his Ryder Cup snub, picking up his fourth DP World Tour win with what can only be called a jumbled 6-under 66 at the Estrella Damm Andalucia Masters on Sunday in Spain.
The one-shot win came after a final round with two eagles, two bogeys and four birdies, which was much like his previous three days on the Costa del Sol, where the 30-year-old experienced feast or famine.
Over the first 54 holes, Meronk recorded one double bogey, two eagles, seven bogeys and 15 birdies before signing for his second consecutive 66 on Sunday.
Adrian Meronk won for the fourth time on the DP World Tour.
Imago
“I didn’t have my best golf on the first day so, to be honest, to win that tournament is very special,” Meronk said. “My dad was here this week, same as Italy, so it’s super, super special and I’m over the moon.”
Meronk’s win in Italy at Marco Simone, the home of last month's Ryder Cup, seemingly put him in the driver’s seat to be the first Pole to be part of the biennial matches. But when he narrowly missed out on qualifying via points and then was not picked by European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, Meronk bore his tortured soul in Ireland.
“It's been emotional time for me, to be honest, from shock to sadness to anger, and now I'm trying to turn it into motivation going into this week,” Meronk said prior to the Irish Open, held after the team was set. “Obviously it's a hard one to swallow. I thought I've done enough to be on the team, but it is what it is. I wish them good luck and I will just focus on my game and move forward.”
Meronk has come out the other end of the Ryder Cup dismissal thriving. Sunday, he came from four shots back of Dane Jeff Winther and Germany's Matti Schmid, making two bogeys in the first three holes and then going on a streak of 8 under over the last 13 holes with an 8-foot eagle putt on the par-5 6th and then draining a 121-yarder from the fairway on a 421-yard par-4.
“I knew it was going to be tricky all day, the weather was not very helpful with different wind, but I didn’t get off to a hot start,” Meronk said. “I was trying to talk to myself, in my mind to stay positive, and I knew I was hitting good shots on the range in the morning, so I knew I had the game. I just stayed in it and the eagle on six gave me some momentum.
"I believed and stayed super focused until the last putt which I’m really proud of and my caddie as well. It was tricky going down the back nine with different wind, gusting, little bit of rain, but I was super-focused.”
Meronk wanted to earn his PGA Tour card this year and with the win moves back into the top 50 in the world and in a great position to gain his PGA Tour card with just three events left in the DP World Tour season.
“My goal at the end of the year was top three on the Race to Dubai,” Meronk said. “Obviously Rory (McIlroy) and (Jon) Rahm are quite a way ahead of us, but I believe if I can play well in South Africa and the final then I can get some more points and move into the top two, we’ll see. I’m in a great position for a PGA Tour card so I’ll just keep focusing on that and keep getting better.”