Adrian Meronk was snubbed.
Ryder Cup: Adrian Meronk’s snub has PGA Tour pros calling it a ‘crime’ while he takes high road
Adrian Meronk, who has had a terrific season on the DP World Tour, surprisingly did not make the European Ryder Cup team.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
On Monday, European Captain Luke Donald overlooked the 30-year-old Pole as he finalized his team for the Ryder Cup.
Instead of Meronk, Donald opted for two young, rising stars: Ludvig Aberg of Sweden and Nicholai Højgaard of Denmark.
Yet, Meronk leads the DP World Tour in strokes gained off the tee and sits in third place behind Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm in the Race to Dubai rankings.
The Race to Dubai is the DP World Tour’s equivalent of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup.
McIlroy and Rahm are part-time DP World Tour members too. The two superstars play in a handful of DP World Tour tournaments annually, often in only the biggest events in the Middle East and the British Isles.
Rahm also plays in the Spanish Open every year.
So, when considering this, Meronk ranks higher than any other full-time DP World Tour member in the season-long standings, but he will not represent his continent and country in the Ryder Cup.
Meronk would have been the first Polish player to compete in the biennial competition.
Even more inexplicable to Meronk’s snub is that he won the 2023 DS Automobiles Italian Open at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome.
Marco Simone is hosting the Ryder Cup.
But his win in Italy was not a one-hit wonder.
Meronk won the 2022 ISPS Handa Australian Open by five shots over Adam Scott last December. He also won the 2022 Irish Open, which was held at Mount Juliet in County Kilkenny two weeks before Cameron Smith won The Open at St. Andrews.
Sure, Meronk missed the cut at two of the four majors this year, but he recorded a top-25 finish at Royal Liverpool, where Brian Harman won his first major championship.
Yet, after the European team was revealed, Meronk, who played collegiately at East Tennessee State, showed remarkable class on social media.
“Good luck,” Meronk posted.
But for Meronk to demonstrate this high level of class—and not express frustration—speaks to his tremendous character.
He also received the support of many other touring professionals, including former Ryder Cup Captain Ian Woosnam:
Richard Bland, a fellow European player who now plays for LIV Golf, also weighed in:
Bland went as far as to say that Meronk should have made the team over Irishman Shane Lowry, who, like Justin Thomas, has not had a memorable season in 2023.
Others also felt strongly about Meronk’s omission from the team, including Lee Westwood and Paul Goydos.
Do you think Meronk should have made the team? Let us know in the comments below.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
