Adrian Meronk’s first victory on the DP World Tour will have to wait, his closing 68 at the Dutch Open still leaving him one shot short of playoff between Ryan Fox and Victor Perez. But it’s not due to a lack of trying at the Netherlands’ Bernardus Golf on Sunday
The first player from Poland to earn a card on the former European Tour, Meronk started the day two shots back 54-hole leader Victor Perez and started strong with birdies on the fourth and fifth holes. But on the 160-yard par-3 eighth, the 28-year-old’s tee shot found the water short of the green. It was a potential turning point moment of sorts, Perez and Fox both starting strong themselves. But with Meronk able to see the top of his ball partially appearing out of the water, he felt confident enough he could get his ball up on to the green rather than need to take a penalty shot.
Off then came the shoes and socks. Out came the wedge. With his 6-foot-6 frame, he looked particularly lanky getting into the water, which made what happened next even more impressive:
The clutch par save allowed Meronk to keep a clean card and two more birdies on the back nine put some heat on the contenders. While Fox pulled out the victory (despite a closing double bogey), Meronk can be satisfied he gave it his all. And he might even have earned a cool new “Aquaman” nickname.