Adrian Meronk given penalty (!) by LIV Golf for playing too slowly

Adrian Meronk was assessed a one-stroke penalty during the final round of LIV Golf's event in Jeddah after taking two minutes to play a stroke.

Ben Smith

03 Mar 2024

Adrian Meronk given penalty (!) by LIV Golf for playing too slowly

Adrian Meronk was given a penalty for playing too slowly during the final round of LIV Golf's event in Jeddah.

The penalty was confirmed by the official communications team of the breakaway tour.

Poland's Meronk was playing the final round at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club alongside Jon Rahm and Kevin Na.

The group were warned on their eighth hole of the day (the 10th) that they had fallen off the pace.

By their 12th hole of the day the group had further lost position on the course, the tour said.

Meronk was given the penalty because he allegedly took more than two minutes to play his second stroke on the 18th hole.

The 6ft 6ins golfer, who joined the lucrative league for the 2024 campaign for a reported $10m deal, ultimately finished tied for sixth on 10-under.

Rahm finished one stroke ahead of Meronk on 11-under. Joaquin Niemann claimed victory in Jeddah then took another shot at the OWGR.

LIV Golf clarified in a statement:

"In the final round, the group of Jon Rahm, Kevin Na and Adrian Meronk were officially warned by a rules official after their eighth hole of the day (hole 10) the group was out of position on the golf course as well as behind in relation to time par.

"After their 12th hole of the day (hole 14) the group, who had further lost position on the course, was officially timed by a rules official.

"In accordance with the LIV Golf League pace of play policy, 'A player has 40 seconds to play each stroke, with an additional 10 seconds if they are the first to play any stroke in the group'.

"On the second stroke of the 18th hole, Adrian Meronk, who was first to play, received a time exceeding two minutes for his stroke.

"This exceeded the allotted time per the policy. Meronk was immediately notified by an official and assessed a one-stroke penalty.

"With the penalty, Meronk's score of four on the par-5 18th resulted in a score of a five."

Meronk is yet to comment on the penalty that will have cost him thousands in prize money.

This is not the first time a LIV player has been assessed a penalty for falling foul of the rules.

The aforementioned Niemann was docked two shots at LIV Golf Mayakoba for taking an incorrect drop. He went on to win.

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