Adrian Meronk

Adrian Meronk: Standing tall for his nation – and his LIV team

Adrian Meronk has often had to chart a lonely course during his golfing career. So it’s little wonder that he is relishing the experience of being part of a team in LIV Golf.

He was the first Polish golfer to win on the European Tour, the first to play in a major championship – and the first to be invited to join LIV Golf, where he is a member of the Cleeks GC team.

Does being such a sporting pioneer for a nation of nearly 40 million people bring extra pressure? “I’m kind of used to it,” he told the LIV Golf podcast Fairway To Heaven in 2024.

“I was the first Polish golfer in college, and the first to go pro. It’s nice to be first – someone has to be – and I’m proud that it’s me. I’m really enjoying it, and trying to embrace it as much as possible.”

Now in his 30s, the 6-foot-6 Meronk is standing tall as he strives to work his way to the very top of a sport he first played when he was just 6 or 7 years old.

Why Adrian Meronk is blazing a trail for future Polish golfers

Even now, there are fewer than 50 golf courses in Poland. So why would a talented young sportsman gravitate towards the sport?

“Golf was in our family since I remember,” says Meronk, whose father Andrzej was a professional volleyball player – and a keen amateur golfer. Summer holidays were spent in Spain so that his dad could enjoy a few rounds.

The young Adrian played basketball and, like his father, volleyball, while he was also a good soccer goalkeeper. But the crucial moment arrived in his mid-teens.

He says: “I got annoyed with team sports when someone didn’t pass me the ball. I wanted to control my own destiny when I played, and that’s why I went towards golf when I was 14 or 15.”

Meronk began to enjoy the process of training and playing in tournaments, and a couple of years later he began to work with coach Matthew Tipper, the man who was to have the greatest influence on his golfing career.

“He made me believe I had the potential to go to the States and compete on a scholarship and play with the best amateurs and juniors in the world. It was the first time I believed I could do something with golf.”

Culture shock of moving from Poland to Tennessee

Adrian Meronk was born in May 1993 in Hamburg, Germany. His parents took the family back to their native Poland two years later and Adrian attended high school in Wroclaw.

He recorded several wins in his homeland, including the Polish Junior Championship and the Polish Amateur, all of which earned him a place at East Tennessee State University in 2012.

Meronk did not visit the Volunteer State before crossing the Atlantic, and admitted: “It was a big culture shock. My English wasn’t that sharp, the food was a bit different, and living there was different to Europe.

“But I had a bunch of friends, our golf team was very European, which was a main factor why I went there.”

Meronk played against many youngsters who went on to be pros, including Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, and Justin Thomas. He also represented Poland in the Eisenhower Trophy three times and on the final occasion, in 2016, he was third in the individual standings.

Steady progress as a pro and European Tour victory

Adrian Meronk joined the professional ranks in 2016 and played for the next three years on the Challenge Tour. His first win at that level arrived in the Open de Portugal in 2019, and an overall finish of fifth place in the rankings earned him a European Tour card for 2020.

He progressed steadily and earned his first professional win at the Horizon Irish Open in 2022. Having become the first Pole to triumph at this level, he proved it was no fluke by winning the Australian Open five months later.

Two more wins followed in 2023, including the Italian Open at the Marco Simone Club in Rome. That victory put him fifth on the European points list. He was right in contention for a spot in the European team for the Ryder Cup, to be held at the same course later that year.

What happened next would change the course of Meronk’s career.

Meronk makes his way to LIV Golf

In December 2023, Adrian Meronk was named by his peers as the 2023 DP World Tour Player of the Year following his outstanding efforts and two victories.

Meronk won the Andalucia Masters and later joined LIV Golf.

Meronk starts fast in LIV Golf career

Adrian Meronk’s consistent play in 2023 earned him a PGA Tour opportunity for the following year. But he withdrew from his first event, January’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in California in January, and was announced as a LIV Golf member soon after.

Meronk admits he discussed his decision at length with friends and family, and is extremely happy he made it.

“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," Meronk said. "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.”

He admits it took him a few events to get used to the LIV Golf life, but once he settled in he really enjoyed it.

“I like the format with everyone playing at the same time in the same conditions, and for fans it’s so exciting to see all the players out on course at the same time.”

Meronk feels at home with his Cleeks GC colleagues, including skipper Martin Kaymer. Meronk adds: “All the guys are very easy going and I love spending time with them. Martin is a great role model and a great guy to be with.”

Meronk finished a respectable 17th on the overall points list in 2024, including a second place in Houston.

But he particularly loved the Adelaide tournament. “It was amazing, probably my favorite tournament ever. It was so much fun and the fans were incredible, especially at the 12th hole.”

In 2025, Meronk couldn't have had a better start of the season. He won the individual title at the season-opening LIV Golf Riyadh by two shots over Jon Rahm and Sebastian Munoz. Meronk was hot from the start, beginning the week by shooting a 10-under 62 in the first round.

Meronk’s Olympic dream comes true in Tokyo and Paris

Adrian Meronk admits he enjoys playing a wide variety of sports, and watching many more. When he represented Poland at the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he took the opportunity to attend as many events as possible.

Meronk tied for 51st in Japan, and was selected again for Paris in 2024. He said before the Games: “Being part of the Olympics is a dream come true, and I hope my friends and fellow Polish athletes can support me on the golf course.

“From a young age, I was always captivated by the Olympics, particularly with my father’s encouragement – he was a professional volleyball player. I have always felt honored to represent Poland on the international stage.”

Meronk finished 49th.

Adrian Meronk’s life away from the course

In the summer of 2022, Adrian Meronk began dating Melania Bobrowicz, a Polish pop singer and composer. She has accompanied him on tour, and caddied for him at the par-3 tournament at the Masters.

Meronk is based in Dubai and enjoys a host of sporting activities including wake surfing and jet skiing. He has also sky-dived, which he describes as “one of the coolest experiences in my life."

He describes life in Dubai as “easy living,” with extensive golf practice facilities and easy access to a wide variety of courses via the bustling international airport.

Multiple LIV wins and Masters glory on Meronk’s radar

The world-class quality of the field at every event in the LIV Golf calendar means that Adrian Meronk is under no illusions about how difficult it will be to become a serial individual winner in the series.

Nevertheless, the ambition to be a multiple LIV Golf event winner features high on Meronk’s list of targets.

He would also like to have at least one Major championship victory under his belt. In an ideal world that would come at the Masters, his favorite tournament.

Meronk failed to make the cut on his first two visits to Augusta in 2023 and 2024. He had more joy at The Open Championship with three successive made cuts between 2022 and 2024, with a finish in a tie for 23rd place in 2023 his highest place on the leaderboard in that sequence.

Given Meronk’s success in overcoming a series of obstacles as he blazes a trail for Polish golf, you would not bet against him challenging for the sport’s loftiest prizes in the near future.