Adrian Meronk becomes first Polish player to make cut in States

In Poland, The Genesis Invitational is known as “The Tiger.” The moniker is a sign of respect for the 82-time TOUR winner who hosts the longtime stop at The Riviera Country Club.

Poland native Adrian Meronk earned a spot at Riviera via a sponsor exemption, and he made some history for his home country along the way.

Meronk opened in rounds of 74-67 at Riviera CC, making the cut with two strokes to spare. He becomes the first Polish player on record to make a PGA TOUR cut in the United States.

Meronk, 29, is a two-time DP World Tour winner, having become the first Pole to win on the circuit at last year’s Horizon Irish Open and then adding the ISPS Handa Australian Open in December. He has professed to “try my best to grow golf as big as possible” in a country of 38 million that maintained fewer than 3,000 golfers in 2008. The number more than doubled in the next decade, and Meronk intends for that trend to continue.

“There’s still a stereotype in Poland that golf is only for the wealthy, that it’s not a sport,” Meronk said in 2021. “If they see me on TV … that will help, for sure.

“When people at home ask me what I do for a living, and I tell them, it is always a surprise for them,” he told Golf Digest in 2020. “I’m still a bit of an oddity, something I’m trying to change.”

Meronk failed to record a birdie in the opening round at The Genesis, necessitating a stellar second round to finish inside the money and make Polish history. He delivered with a six-birdie, two-bogey effort in more demanding conditions; his second-round 67 was bettered by only Lee Hodges (66).

Meronk had made four prior TOUR starts, missing three cuts but finishing T42 at The 150th Open at St. Andrews. He played collegiately at East Tennessee State from 2012 to 2016, sharing an alma mater with fellow European Seamus Power (2006-2010); he also represented Europe at the Palmer Cup in 2015 and 2016.

“I remember thinking, ‘This guy can be a star if you’re the first Pole,’” said Meronk’s college coach Fred Warren in 2021. “And he carries it real well. Some might wilt under it. He realizes he’s got a gift and he can be a trailblazer for Poland.”

Meronk played in a Featured Group during the third round at Riviera, and he didn’t wilt, making four birdies in a 1-under 70. He stands T33 into Sunday’s final round in Los Angeles.

Meronk, born in Germany, moved back to Poland with his family at age 3. His dad developed a golf fascination, and it wasn’t uncommon for the two to make a seven-hour round-trip weekend drive to play Toya Golf & Country Club near Wroclaw. The family eventually moved to Wroclaw so that golf would be more accessible, and by age 12, Meronk was invited to the national junior camp. His game progressed to where he earned a spot at East Tennessee State, where he won five times; he earned his DP World Tour card via the 2019 Challenge Tour and hasn’t looked back.

Now 52nd in the Official World Golf Ranking, Meronk’s ascent has only continued.

‘It’s nice to break all the new boundaries,” Meronk said in 2021. “But I don’t want to stop. I want to keep going forward.”

His words have proven prophetic.