Saudi Arabia: Adrian Meronk's prize money was reduced by approximately $250,000 after he was penalized for exceeding the time limit in the final round of the 2024 LIV Golf Jeddah tournament.
On March 3rd, the LIV Golf Jeddah tournament announced the prize money distribution, with the trophy and $4 million going to Joaquin Niemann with a score of -17, while Meronk received $508,750 for finishing T6 with a score of -10.
This is a disappointing result for Meronk. Because, without a penalty stroke, he would have finished -11 like Jon Rahm and changed his overall ranking to T5, with a prize of $750,000 for each player.
Merronk takes a preview of a putt in the final round of LIV Golf Jeddah on March 3. Photo: nationalclubgolfer
Meronk suffered a minor setback but a significant loss of prize money due to his slow pace, which resulted in a reduced score on the penultimate hole. There, the referee penalized Meronk one stroke as it took him over two minutes to complete his second shot. According to LIV Golf League rules, the maximum time for a shot is 40 seconds, with an additional 10 seconds allowed for golfers in the first round of a group.
Based on that, the referees changed Meronk's score for the penultimate hole from birdie to par.
They made the decision to fine after reprimanding and warning Meronk's team for their slow progress, starting from hole 10. Meronk is the second case, after Richard Bland in July 2023, to be fined for slow play on the LIV Golf League since its opening in 2022. But in the first case, Bland only had about $20,000 deducted for dropping one place, to T23 with prize money of $208,750.
Meronk debuted in the LIV Golf League a month ago. Joining this league meant he chose to leave the DP World Tour, despite his current success with four titles and the 2023 Golfer of the Season award.
Meronk, 30, turned professional in 2016, right after graduating from Tennessee State University in the US. After three years competing on the second-tier Challenge Tour, he entered the DP World Tour in 2020. Up to that point, only Meronk had achieved such a career milestone in Polish golf history.
To date, Meronk is also the only Polish golfer to have competed in all four majors. However, in the prestigious tournaments, he remains relatively unknown, with his best result being a T40 finish at The Open 2023.
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