Somewhere on a train in Western Europe, on the way back from Switzerland after the Omega European Masters, Adrian Meronk felt his cell phone ring.
Adrian Meronk details ‘shock, sadness, anger’ amid Ryder Cup snub ahead of Irish Open
Adrian Meronk spoke with the media ahead of the Irish Open, publicly detailing his Ryder Cup snub for the first time.
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.
It was Luke Donald, the Captain of the European Ryder Cup team.
Donald went on to inform Meronk that he had not made the team, thus crushing the 30-year-old’s hopes of playing in the biennial competition for the first time.
“To be honest, when he said I’m not going, I kind of stopped listening,” Meronk said ahead of the Horizon Irish Open.
“I just didn’t listen much, to be honest. He was saying that someone had to stay home. It was close, obviously, and stuff like that. Obviously, I wouldn’t want to be in his position. I knew it was tough for him. But yeah, it was a big shock, and I didn’t really focus after that.”
Meronk, who won three tournaments within the last 14 months, was overlooked.
He sat silently on the train after the call, alongside his girlfriend Melania Bobrowicz, wondering how he could have been snubbed.
“I was in shock,” Meronk added. “I was expecting to have a pretty decent chance to be on the team, but it was a quite shocking call.”
Indeed, many touring professionals such as Paul Goydos and Ian Woosnam have voiced their displeasure about Meronk missing the team. Goydos went as far as calling it a ‘crime.’
Other fans did so, too, especially those from Poland.
Polish fans hoped they would see one of their own don the blue and gold of Europe for the first time in a Ryder Cup.
“People didn’t take it well,” Meronk said. “Obviously, you don’t know Polish, but you can read some comments on social media. Everyone was disappointed. I know a couple of people already bought tickets because they were sure I would be there. They probably are going to go regardless, but they were not happy.”
Outside of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, two part-time members of the DP World Tour, Meronk had the highest Race to Dubai ranking out of any player on the European circuit.
The Race to Dubai is the DP World Tour’s equivalent of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs.
The Pole had an outstanding year, which included a tie for 23rd at The Open Championship, his best career finish in a major. He also competed in The Masters for the first time, an impressive feat considering how difficult it is to earn an invite from Augusta National.
“It’s been an emotional time for me, from shock to sadness to anger, and now I’m trying to turn it into motivation going into this week,” Meronk said. “It’s a hard one to swallow. I thought I’d 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.”
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.
