Adrian Meronk’s hole out, zany back 9 shoots him to Andalucia Masters title

Adrian Meronk had himself a day at the Andalucia Masters as he fired off a 6-under 66 to win by one stroke over Matti Schmid.

Meronk incredibly came back from eight shots back to claim his third win this year. The Polish golfer went nuclear as he neared the turn, going 8-under on his last 13 holes to seal the deal.

He opened his round with a couple bogeys, putting himself into a hole.

“I didn’t get off to a hot start. I was trying to talk to myself, stay positive,” Meronk said after his round. “I was hitting good shots on the range in the morning, so I knew I had the game. The eagle on the sixth gave me some momentum, and then I believed and stayed super focused until the last putt, which I’m very proud of.”

That aforementioned eagle on the par-5 6th was a turning point. Two holes later, he holed out on the par-4 9th hole from 121 yards out.

He didn’t have the best start, but it’s how you finish that counts. Afterwards, Meronk took a deep breath.

“Relieved, to be honest, Meronk said about winning. “It was a tough tournament, tough weather, didn’t have my best golf on the first day so to win the tournament is very special. I’m over the moon.”

The Pole made birdies on the par-4 10th, par-5 12th, par-5 14th and his last came on the par-3 17th. That 66 was just enough for him to complete the comeback and notch another win under his belt.

Meronk was one of the perceived Ryder Cup snubs from the European Ryder Cup team. His strong play shows that a spot on the next team could be in his grasp.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.