Adrian Meronk was overlooked for a Team Europe Ryder Cup Captain’s pick which, in the opinion of NCG’s Matt Chivers, is a significant error from Luke Donald
You can’t choose everyone on a Ryder Cup team.
It’s a sour pill to swallow when coming so close yet so far, and today that was forced down Adrian Meronk’s throat.
To me, it’s hard to believe sitting third in the Race to Dubai, behind Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm of all people, wasn’t enough to be selected in Luke Donald’s 2023 side.
A man who won the DS Automobiles Italian Open in May, at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club where Europe play America this month, won’t be on the team.
Meronk is a three-time DP World Tour winner having also won the Irish Open and the ISPS Handa Australian Open, showing versatility across a variety of golf courses.
He ranks third in greens in regulation on the DP World Tour and fifth in stroke average. He leads the strokes gained off the tee department and is second in total strokes gained too.
These qualities have already seen him navigate Marco Simone to perfection, but he won’t be returning there this month which is the wrong decision, in my view.
So why wasn’t Adrian Meronk chosen?
Donald likely considered Meronk, Nicolai Hojgaard and Ludvig Aberg for the last two picks – all three played in the Omega European Masters last week.
The Englishman’s comments after making his selections would suggest this too:
“There were a lot of people throughout the year and by the time Sunday came around, that was narrowed down to a few, Adrian being one of those for sure. He absolutely did a lot of great stuff throughout the year and was very much on my mind.
“But there were other players too that legitimately could have/should have been there, but in the end, I’m very happy with Nicolai, very happy with Ludvig – very happy with all the six picks, to be honest, that make up this 12.”
The latter pair were chosen with Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka.
Aberg won in the Crans Montana mountains and appears to have a high ceiling having caught the eye on the PGA Tour too.
Hojgaard is also a winner at Marco Simone in Rome but sits 27 places below Meronk in the world rankings and is yet to break the top 10 in the Race to Dubai in 2023.
Meronk’s quest for success in America might’ve played to his detriment.
He headed to the States to play in the Genesis Invitational where he came tied 45th, the Honda Classic where he came tied 14th, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational where he missed the cut.
Had he focused on the Hero Indian Open and the Thailand Classic in that period with weaker fields and a greater chance of success, the towering European might’ve found himself on a flight to Italy in the coming days.
Of course, this wasn’t the deciding factor that cost him his blue and gold badge, but it’s a sad thought when a player looks to test himself on the PGA Tour and performs admirably, only to miss out when even an automatic spot was inches from his grasp.
— Matthew Tipper (@Matthew__Tipper) September 4, 2023
Should Adrian Meronk have been chosen for the 2023 Ryder Cup?
In my mind, he was a cemented pick with just Donald left to choose between Hojgaard and Aberg.
After winning at Europe’s home venue just four months ago, with course conditions for the match against America likely to be similar, Meronk’s selection was a gimme to me.
He made crucial errors in Switzerland last week with two double-bogeys across four rounds to finish tied for 13th, but I’d like to think just a couple of holes haven’t come between him and his Ryder Cup bow, when he could’ve been in the hunt for a third DP World Tour title in 10 months.
He has since wished Europe well on his Instagram page while his short game coach Matthew Tipper said Donald’s decision to leave Meronk out “will hurt for a bit” on X.
I can’t imagine the disappointment Meronk feels.
The chance to fly the flag for Poland at golf’s greatest team event has passed him by with no guarantee of earning a spot at Bethpage in 2025 either.
What did you make of the Europe Ryder Cup captain picks? Let us know on X!
Read now: What clubs does Ludvig Aberg use?
