29 February 2024 , 18:15
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Adrian Meronk has revealed he invested his interest in LIV Golf just a day after he missed out on a spot in Luke Donald's European Ryder Cup team last September.
Meronk was heavily backed to be picked by Donald as part of Team Europe for last Autumn's clash with the Americans at Marco Simone, having emerged as one of the DP World Tour's most in-form players. His performance level was not enough for the skipper, though, as Donald opted to leave out the big-hitting golfer.
For Meronk, being left out of the 12-man team was a bitter pill to swallow. In the aftermath, he revealed he was 'shocked and angry' after returning to action at the Irish Open.
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Five months on, the Polish star has opted to sign on the dotted line with LIV, a move that entered his mind in the aftermath of his Ryder Cup snub, after reaching out out to Cleeks GC star Richard Bland. "To be honest, when I wasn't picked for the Ryder Cup, something inside me switched and I kind of decided to focus on myself,” Meronk told Gulf News.
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“One day after the announcement of the team, I reached out to Richard Bland to ask him how LIV Golf was and if he was enjoying it. Moving there was in the back of my mind then, but we didn’t have any offers or big plans. I was ready to go and play in the U.S.”
Just weeks before joining the Saudi-backed league, Meronk was voted as the DP World Tour's Players' Player of The Year by his peers, winning three times across the 2023 campaign. Now however the 30-year-old finds himself in a tricky situation when it comes to the Wentworth-based circuit.
Adrian Meronk joined LIV Golf earlier this month (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)Despite his LIV move, it appears Meronk will remain a DP World Tour member for now, despite being fined and suspended by the Tour for competing on the breakaway circuit. "I’d actually like to play two to three DP World Tour events at the end of the year once the LIV Golf calendar has finished to get some OWGR points,” he added.
"It’s all a bit complicated right now with the fines, I don’t know the full details to be honest.” Meronk has been openly honest since making the Saudi switch earlier this month, previously admitting that being left out of the European Ryder Cup role played a role in his decision to defect.
"I would probably not have come to LIV if I had played in the Ryder Cup,” Meronk told the Daily Telegraph ahead of LIV Golf Las Vegas. "What happened definitely made my choice easier. You know, what I went through just made it easier to care more about myself and not care what other people think of me, or what other people want me to do. What happened with the Ryder Cup just opened my eyes as to how everything works."