Snubbed Ryder Cup star bounces back to pip Rory McIlroy to DP World Tour award
Adrian Meronk has been awarded the DP World Tour's Seve Ballesteros Award, receiving the recognition of his fellow stars by being named Player of The Year.
The award named in honour of one of Europe's greatest ever players, is handed to the player who receives the most votes from their peers, and it was Meronk who came out on top in 2023. The Pole earned 38% of the vote, pipping Rory McIlroy who came second, whilst Nicolai Hojgaard and Viktor Hovland tied for third.
Meronk enjoyed his best season to date, winning three times at the Australian Open, Italian Open, and most recently the Andalucia Masters at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande in October.
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The 30-year-old was surprised with the award whilst out on the range at this week's Dubai Desert. Accepting the player-voted accolade, he said: " It feels amazing. I'm shocked to be honest, I didn't expect that. You got me by surprise but seeing my name next to all of these players, it's unbelievable.
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"I'm very grateful for this award. It means a lot to me that other players appreciate my season last year. It's a great feeling. Last year was the best season so far in my career. I'm really happy that other players saw that, as well and give that award.
"Just thank you for that and I have to keep going." Receiving the acknowledgment of his fellow players will be all the more rewarding for Meronk, who agonisingly missed out on a place in Luke Donald's European Ryder Cup team in Rome last October.
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Adrian Meronk was given the award at the Dubai Desert Classic (Getty Images)Meronk had been heavily backed throughout qualification to earn a place, and almost secured it automatically, finishing fifth in the European points list. He was then relying on a captain's pick from Donald, but the Englishman opted to leave out the 30-year-old, calling in rookies Nicolai Hojgaard and Ludvig Aberg instead.
On the back of missing out Meronk said he was both 'shocked' and 'angered' by the decision. "To be honest, I was in shock, yeah. I was expecting I have a pretty decent chance to be on the team but it was a quite shocking call," he said at last September's Irish Open.
"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. 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."
And focus he did, as the Pole bounced back in style to win in Spain just one month later. Meronk went on to finish fourth in the 2023 Race to Dubai rankings, ensuring he was one of 10 DP World Tour players who secured a PGA Tour card for 2024.
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