Meronk, in his 65th DP World Tour event, is the first player from Poland to win on the Tour.

A moment of history @AdrianMeronk | #HorizonIrishOpen pic.twitter.com/zAT27seb0Y

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 3, 2022

A final round of 66 gave him a three shot victory over opening day leader Ryan Fox of New Zealand, with Thriston Lawrence of South Africa a further shot back in third.

Fox had posted the clubhouse lead with a final round 64 but Meronk ensured his victory with an eagle on the par 5 seventeenth hole.

Meronk’s round included 5 birdies and an eagle while Fox had posted the round of the day with an eight under par score which included seven birdies and an eagle. Fox’s double bogey on the final hole however left the door open for Meronk who was playing a few groups behind him.

Another first for Meronk

Meronk is used to achieving firsts in his short career so far: he became the first player from Poland to secure a DP World Tour card when he graduated following a 2019 Challenge Tour campaign that included ten top ten finishes; he was the first male Polish player to compete in golf’s four Major Championships when he qualified for the 2021 U.S. Open; he was the first Polish player to win on the European Challenge Tour when he won the 2019 Open de Portugal at Morgado Golf Resort.

Today’s Horizon Irish Open win will see him move to sixth on the DP World Tour Rankings and could move as high as 61^st in the Official World Golf Ranking – a career-best – when they are updated.

Shane Lowry ended the 2020 Horizon Irish Open as the leading Irish player. The Offaly man carded a final round 67 for a five under par round, leaving him in ninth place on -9, eight shots behind the winner.

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The New Zealander shot eight birdies in an -8 opening round at Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, and holds the clubhouse lead.

“I’m more surprised, to be honest, than anything else” admitted the opening round leader. “I’ve been fighting it on the range the last couple days after the weekend, and certainly didn’t look like it early in the round. I made a couple of birdies, but I was scrapping away, and then stop and collect on 7, 8, hit a great wedge shot in there and made a few putts as well.”

Discussing his round of -8, the New Zealander stated:

“(My) short game kept me in it early and a couple good up-and-downs. My wedge play was really good. I think I hit it stiff on 7, 8, that tee on 7, 8, 1, and 2, and then kind of the birdies there with a wedge, and on top of that holed a couple of nice putts. So it’s just one of those days where everything went really well and I managed to keep it in the fairway for the most part, which around this golf course, if you’re in the rough, that’s pretty tough out there, which I found sort of through the first six holes.”

Frenchman Frederic Lacroix is a shot behind on -7 after his round of 65. He is tied in second place with German Marcel Schneider, Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay, and Spaniard Jorge Campillo.

Tied on six under are Antoine Rozner of France, Englishmen Dale Whitnell, Jordan Smith and Aaron Rai, South African Thriston Lawrenece, and Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal.

Séamas Power and Niall Kearney are the leading Irish players after first round 68s for a -4 score.

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