Adrian Meronk carded a pair of eagles as he fought his way to a fourth DP World Tour victory at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters.
The 30-year-old Pole fired a superb six-under 66 at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, to add to earlier rounds of 72, 68 and 66, to secure his third victory of the season, finishing one stroke clear of overnight co-leader Matti Schmid, whose title charge fell away after bogeying the par four 16th.
Meronk was forced to fight back from an underwhelming start which saw him sit two over through his first three holes. He kickstarted his round with an eagle at the par-five sixth following a stunning approach into eight feet, before the moment of the round arrived at the par four ninth.
The 2019 Challenge Tour graduate found the fairway for the first time this week and took full advantage by holing out from 121 yards to surge into trophy contention. He then holed a 42-footer at the tenth for birdie, with further gains coming at 12, 14 and 17. Meronk narrowly missed a final birdie attempt at the last hole, but a par and a 16-under total was enough for Poland’s only DP World Tour winner take the title and leapfrog New Zealand’s Ryan Fox into third place on the Race to Dubai ranking with just three events on the season left to play.
Schmid’s second place was enough to ensure he retains his playing privileges for the 2024 season, climbing 84 places to 70th on the Race to Dubai, while England’s Richard Mansell followed his tie for sixth in Madrid last week with a third place in Sotogrande thanks to a four under 68 to finish on 14 under par.
Meronk, who picked up €602,000 for the win, said: “I didn’t have my best golf on the first day, so to be standing here having won the tournament is a little bit of a surprise. My dad was here this week, so it’s super special and I’m over the moon. I didn’t have the best of starts today, but the eagle on six gave me some momentum, and then the chip-in eagle on nine is one of those things which you never expect but you’re happy to take. I was proud that I managed to maintain my focus coming in and I am very happy to have another win this season, and some more points on the board.”
“My goal at the end of the year was to finish top three on the Race to Dubai. Obviously, Rory [McIlroy] and Jon [Rahm] are quite a way ahead of me, but I believe if I can play well in South Africa and the final in Dubai then I can get some more points and move into the top two, we’ll see. I’m in a great position to gain my PGA TOUR card, so I’ll just keep focussing on that and keep getting better.”
For all the scores, click here.