Watching Ryder Cup ‘Was Not Easy’ After Wildcard Snub - Adrian Meronk

Adrian Meronk has admitted it was "not easy" to watch the Ryder Cup after he agonisingly missed out on a captain's pick by Luke Donald.

Meronk looked set to claim one of the final wildcard picks after his impressive year, which had seen him win twice, including at the Italian Open, which was held at Marco Simone. 

However, the Pole was dramatically snubbed of a place on the European team after captain Donald opted to go with the youth of Nicolai Hojgaard and Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg, who burst onto the scene having only turned professional in June.

For the 30-year-old, however, who later said he went from "shock to sadness to anger" when he was denied the chance to make his maiden appearance in the tournament, it was difficult to watch from the sidelines as the action unfolded in Rome 

"Watching on a course like that, where I’ve had success, was not easy," he told The Times."I was home in Poland and I watched a bit in the morning and then went to practice.

“It wasn’t up to me who was playing. It didn’t matter what I thought or wished. I had good memories and knew what I could have done, but I accepted it.

"I watched the Sunday singles and it was great to see how Europe performed. It was actually quite an exciting Ryder Cup."

Meronk previously professed at the Irish Open that his wildcard snub was "a hard one to swallow" and that "I thought I'd done enough to be on that team." In that sense, one might have expected the big-hitting Pole to just coast through the back end of the season.

The 30-year-old, however, was not one to rest on his laurels and provided the perfect response to his Ryder Cup rejection when he won in his second event after the tournament at the Andalucia Masters.

His superb final day charge not only saw him claim his third DP World Tour title of the season but also catapulted him up to third in the season-long Race to Dubai standings and on the cusp of claiming a PGA Tour card for the following season.

Recent changes as part of the strategic alliance between the two top tours dictate that the top ten golfers in the Race to Dubai standings who aren't already PGA Tour members will be granted a tour card to compete stateside.

Trailing only Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm in the rankings, Meronk is currently the first cab of the rank to claim his PGA Tour card and plans to make the move to America and make the most of the opportunity in 2024.

"It’s my goal to move to the US, base myself in Florida and compete there, he added.

"After this week [at the Nedbank Golf Challenge] we will start making some plans for early 2024. If I want to improve my world ranking and keep getting better, then the US is the way to go.”

With only a few tournaments left in the year, he will also look to cling onto his spot inside the world's top 50. Currently ranked 46th, residing inside the top 50 come the end of the year will earn him an invite back to the Masters having made his debut appearance in 2023.