Did Adrian Meronk join LIV Golf because of Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup snub? All you need to know
In a recent interview with Telegraph Sports, Polish golfer Adrian Meronk acknowledged that the Ryder Cup snub had a significant influence on his choice to sign with LIV Golf.
Meronk's previous season was amazing. He was the fan favorite to join the European team at the Ryder Cup. However, Luke Donald selected Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Nicolai Hojgaard, Shane Lowry and Ludvig Aberg instead.
In his interviews from the previous year, Meronk expressed his dismay at the decision, stating that he was "shocked" deeply.
Adrian Meronk stunned the golf community in 2024 when he announced his decision to join LIV Golf. Following weeks of speculation by fans that his rejection from the Ryder Cup had encouraged him to change directions, Meronk finally spoke out about his choice to join LIV Golf.
He admitted that he would have continued playing on the PGA and DP World Tours if he had been allowed to play at the Ryder Cup.
In his interview with Telegraph Sports, Meronk said (as quoted via Golf Magic):
"I don't know, but I would probably not have come to LIV if I had played in the Ryder Cup. 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. Yeah, and that in life, especially when you are a professional athlete, it is not your whole life. You just have to make sure that your family is good and that you are good and feeling good," he added.
Adrian Meron earned his PGA Tour card for the 2024 season and was slated to compete at the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open to start the new season. But he withdrew from the competition and a week later, it was confirmed that he would be playing at LIV Golf in 2024.
Meronk has joined Martin Kaymer's Cleek GC on the Saudi circuit and teed off at last week's LIV Golf Mayakoba event.
Noticeably, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, the 2023 Ryder Cup heroes, also joined LIV Golf in 2024.
"I was in shock" - Adrian Meronk on the Ryder Cup snub
Adrian Meronk won the 2023 DS Automobiles Italian Open and had six top-10 finishes ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup, making him one of the strongest contenders to be part of the tournament. However, he was shocked when the final team roster for the Ryder Cup was announced in September 2023.
In an interview ahead of the 2023 Irish Open, Meronk spoke about the Ryder Cup snub while talking with the media and said (via NBC Sports):
“To be honest, I was in shock. I was expecting to have a decent chance to be on the team, but it was a quite shocking call, yeah.”
Noticeably, just weeks after the Ryder Cup, Meronk won another DP world tour event at the 2023 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters.
The Pole started his LIV Golf journey in 2024 at last week's LIV Golf Mayakoba event and also teed off at this week's LIV Golf Las Vegas event, where he shot 67 in the opening round on February 8.