Meronk: 'When Luke Said I'm Not Going, I Stopped Listening'

As luck would have it Adrian Meronk is the defending champion of this week's Irish Open which meant, that just two days after he missed out on Europe's Ryder Cup team, we got to hear from his in his press conference.

Last year the Pole won by three shots from Ryan Fox at Mount Juliet but that couldn't have been of less interest to all concerned as the events of the past 48 hours were front and centre. The 30-year-old was adjudged to be the unluckiest player not to make it to Luke Donald's side but, with Nicolai Hojgaard and Ludvig Aberg's late run of form, they got the nod rather than Meronk.

"It's been emotional time for me to be honest from shock to sadness to anger, and now I'm trying to turn it into motivation going into this week. Obviously it's a hard one to swallow. I thought I've done enough to be on the team but it is what it is. For the last year and a half, I spent a lot of time thinking about this and that was my goal," Meronk explained.

"I was expecting the call because they told me they are going to call me regardless. So I was in quite a good mood to be honest. I was on the train coming from Switzerland. Had a nice finish. To be honest, I was in shock, yeah, because I was expecting I have a pretty decent chance to be on the team.

"I heard from Luke that it was tough for him, as well. To be honest, when he said I'm not going, I kind of stopped listening. He was saying that someone had to stay home. It was close obviously and stuff like that. But yeah, as I said, it was a big shock and I didn't really focus after that."

Meronk took up a handful of invites on the PGA Tour this year and some have pointed to them costing Meronk his place through the European Points List but there were no regrets from the winner of this year's Italian Open on the course where the matches will be played later this month.

"I don't regret that. I'm quite happy with the schedule that I did this year. I wanted to grow my game and I wanted to get comfortable playing in the US and I think those starts that I did helped me a lot going forward. So I don't agree with that. Next time, I'll be more focused, maybe play more counting events if I need to to get more points than just to qualify on my own and just not to wait for the pick." 

Just got in from playing golf at @CloseHouseGolf and catching up with all the “experts “ opinions on here. I’d just say that 3rd on the @DPWorldTour points list, 1st and 2nd in 2 outings at the RC venue. @AdrianMeronk should consider himself unlucky to not get picked.

— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) September 4, 2023

Meronk of course would have been the first Pole to represent Europe and some had already bought tickets on the assumption that he would be part of things in Rome.

"Yeah, people didn't take it well. Obviously you don't know Polish but you can read some comments on social media. Obviously everyone was disappointed. I know a couple of people already bought tickets because they were sure I'm going to be there. They probably are going to go regardless, but yeah, they were not happy.

"I talked to my parents and my psychologist, my coach and they all have been quite supportive and to be honest, a lot of players on tour and coaches, caddies, staff, they all have been very supportive to me. You know, texting me, calling me. So yeah, that's quite nice to see. That's very encouraging. I appreciate all that support."