Player Blog: Adrian Meronk

In this week’s Player Blog presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Adrian Meronk reflects on the many firsts he has encountered while representing his home country in golf.

I didn't have any Polish golf heroes growing up, so I idolised golfers from other countries. When I look at other athletes, Robert Lewandowski has been a huge inspiration for me. His approach to football, how professional he is both on and off the pitch, I find him really impressive. We met briefly and we have some mutual friends through golf, so I’m hoping one day soon we can get in a round together.

Iga Świątek is the best female Polish tennis player at the moment, and even though she is a bit younger than me, I really respect her approach to the sport, how she thinks and what she is able to do on the court. It motivates me to keep getting better every day.

I like the position I’m in right now, there are a lot of firsts when it comes to golf in Poland. It was the same when I was the first to win on Challenge Tour and to get my European Tour card. Now it's my first Major, our country's first Major. I don't want to stop. I want to keep pushing forward.

I'm excited to compete against the best players in the world and to see where my game matches up. I played alongside Robert Karlsson and Viktor Hovland in Abu Dhabi this year, my first Rolex Series event, and that was a step up to what I had been used to.

I will get goosebumps when I compete at the Olympics. When I hear the national anthem or put on my team uniform for the first time. My goal at the start of the year was to get into the Olympics and improve my ranking, but the U.S. Open is obviously a huge bonus. It will be great preparation for Tokyo, and it is huge honour for me to represent my country, so I can only hope that it can help make a positive impact on how golf is viewed in Poland.

One of my goals is to grow the game in my home country. Hopefully my continued success can help inspire Polish people to start their own golf adventure. The pandemic has definitely helped change people’s perception because they see the benefits our sport has of enjoying the outdoors and being in large, open spaces. It is something we need to capitalise on so we can build more golf courses for everyone to enjoy.

The winters in Poland are quite rough. I've been fortunate to have wonderful indoor facilities at my home club, Toya Golf & Country Club, so I can practice a lot there in comfort. As a country of 40 million people, we have 10,000 golfers and there are only 25 golf courses in Poland, so I hope I can help inspire the next generation of Polish golfers with what I am doing on the European Tour.

The key to every tournament for me is consistency. If you play well for four rounds, you're going to do well. I was happy with my play last year. Due to the pandemic and the Tour freezing the categories, it was almost like a free year for me. It allowed me to gain some experience on courses I was visiting for the first time because the European Tour courses are a lot different compared to the Challenge Tour, so I was able to get some much needed time playing without fear of losing my card.

Starting this year in Abu Dhabi I was able to control my game a lot better. I just hope that I keep playing well and have more chances to win. The quality of golfers on the European Tour is really high and I think it's a great environment for me to continue to learn and improve.