Adrian Meronk admits he’s been left ‘shocked, sad and angry’ after missing out on Europe’s Ryder Cup team

Adrian Meronk says he was left shocked and angry after being left out of Luke Donald’s European team for the Ryder Cup.

The Pole, a three-time winner on the DP World Tour in the past 14 months, was the most glaring omission among the six wildcards announced by Donald on Monday.

The world No 51 finished fifth on the European Points List and 11th on the World List that are responsible for three automatic qualifiers apiece, but the 30-year-old missed out on a captain’s pick, despite higher placings on those standings than the youthful duo of Nicolai Hojgaard and Ludvig Aberg. There have also been doubts raised about the form of Shane Lowry, who was handed a wildcard.

Meronk, who this week is defending his Irish Open title, said: ‘It’s been an emotional time for me to be honest, from shock to sadness to anger and now I’m trying to turn it into motivation going into this week.

‘Obviously it’s a hard one to swallow, I thought I’d done enough to be on that team but it is what it is, I wish them good luck and I will just focus on my game and move forward.

‘I was expecting a call (from Donald) because they told me they were going to call regardless and I was in quite a good mood to be honest. I was on the train coming from Switzerland (where he had finished tied for 13th at the Omega European Masters). I’d had a nice finish and I was in shock.

‘I heard from him (Donald) that it was tough for him as well but to be honest when he said I’m not going I kind of stopped listening. He was saying that someone has to stay home, it was close and stuff like that. I wouldn’t want to be in his position but it was a big shock.

‘On Monday, the first half of the day was just sadness and disbelief and then anger because the last year and a half I spent a lot of time thinking about this and that was my goal. Suddenly I was just realising it’s not going to happen this year.

‘A lot of players on tour, coaches and caddies have all been very supportive, texting me, calling me.’

Meronk’s prospects of inclusion had been strengthened by winning the Italian Open in May on the same Marco Simone course in Rome that will stage the match with the US later this month. 

Former captain Ian Woosnam tweeted Meronk to say he would have been on his team and Lee Westwood described the big-hitter as ‘unlucky’. Paul Goydos, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, described his omission as a ‘crime’.