Adrian Meronk has opened up on his decision to turn down the chance of a PGA Tour card in favor of a move to LIV Golf.
The Pole was one of the players awarded a card after finishing in the top 10 of the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings at the end of last season, but after failing to appear in any of the opening PGA Tour events of the year, he was unveiled as a LIV golfer at the end of January.
In an interview with Gulf News, Meronk, who is based in Dubai, admitted that part of the reason for his decision was the concern that he wouldn’t enjoy life on the US-based circuit.
He said: “If I’d played in America, I would have had to base myself there and it would have been so lonely and so miserable, I think.
“I even talked to Nicolas Colsaerts – when he started playing on the PGA Tour, he felt so lonely, he didn’t really enjoy it. I was a little bit scared of that, to be honest. I wanted to play out there, but hearing things like that played a part in my decision.”
Colsaerts isn’t the only DP World Tour player who has struggled with the transition to the PGA Tour. In 2022, another player now with LIV Golf, Thomas Pieters, described his experience on the PGA Tour, telling Golf Digest: "I hated my life at that point. This is a lonely place for Europeans sometimes."
Then, earlier this year, Robert MacIntyre said of his opening months on the PGA Tour: “It does become a lonely place at the golf side of it.”
Meronk also revealed that signing for LIV Golf allowed him to remain in the UAE rather than relocate to the US, while he was also attracted by the lighter schedule: “Joining LIV Golf meant I could stay in Dubai, which is a place that I like, and play fewer tournaments, as I was exhausted last year after playing 27 times," he said.
“I think it was a great decision for me. It’s given me so much life and enjoyment. It’s like a rat race on the PGA Tour – everybody is looking out for themselves, and nobody talks to you.”
After signing for LIV Golf, Meronk joined Martin Kaymer's Cleeks GC
After Meronk joined LIV Golf he admitted that part of the reason was his omission from the 2023 Ryder Cup team when he had been widely tipped to be one of Luke Donald’s wildcards. At the time, he told The Telegraph: “I would probably not have come to LIV if I had played in the Ryder Cup. What happened made my choice easier.”
Despite that disappointment, he now has his sights set on an appearance in the 2025 match at Bethpage Black, although he admitted he had yet to speak to Donald about the possibility.
“I think my manager may have spoken to him at Wentworth, but I’ve not personally spoken to him about anything," said Meronk. "Sergio, Rahm, Hatton – there’s a lot of players on LIV who want to be involved, so he probably knows I am up for it if I am playing well. I believe if I play well, I can make it.”
Meronk is one of four LIV golfers currently qualified for the DP World Tour Championship, and is in the field for the first of the two play-offs to conclude the season, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which begins on 7 November.
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