“That's when I realized I want to go pro” - Adrian Meronk on his journey from Poland to Pro Golf; overcoming challenges and pursuing dreams
Adrian Meronk has been chasing the professional game for a long time. It required him to at one point leave his home country of Poland and try to overcome obstacles to make it into what is not an easy sport to break through in. Tons of players languish as amateurs or don't pan out as pros and have to pivot.
Meronk experienced the trials and tribulations, but he knew for a long time that he was going to make it as a pro and that it would require a lot of work. The LIV Golf star eventually did just that.
He said in the Cleeks GC interview (12:40 - 13:53):
"It's not easy, you have to go abroad. There's no competition. There's very little golf knowledge and not the many golf courses. We have only 25 golf courses in entire country. So since early age I had to go traveling around Europe competing with guys from UK, Germany, France, Italy all of these countries, played the national events."
He continued:
"And then I had to make a decision to go to college when I finished my high school in Poland. And that was the main thing that helped my golf career to get better. When I got to college my first year was quite tough, getting used to stuff and getting the language and culture and everything. But then after that it was just much easier and my golf game got much better competing with better guys than me, trying to beat them every single week, that's what helped me the most. And that's when I realized I want to go pro."
The competitive edge he utilized to get better and the motivation he had to always beat his opponents no matter what is something a lot of pro golfers and pro athletes in general, have. That's also what made the golfer realize he wanted and could turn pro eventually.
Fast forward to 2024 and Adrian Meronk is an integral part of a top LIV team. He wasn't a big star on the PGA Tour, but now he's doing quite well and is one of LIV Golf's most notable golfers.
Adrian Meronk discusses LIV Golf move
Adrian Meronk's decision to leave for LIV Golf follows a recent trend involving European stars. It began with Jon Rahm's monumental defection, and it continued on with Tyrell Hatton and Meronk.
But for Meronk, there were a lot of factors. Via Essentially Sports, he detailed his thoughts:
“I think the most important thing for me was the schedule. The last two years, I had really great years in my career, but to be honest, I wasn’t enjoying it as much.”
He continued:
“I was just constantly on the road. We didn’t have a proper home, just packing from hotel to hotel and airport to airport. I was sitting with my parents and my girlfriend during Christmas, and I was just saying, ‘Yeah, I had a great year, but I didn’t really enjoy it.'”
Now, he's a member of Cleeks GC and is looking to make a name for himself on a brand new tour.