In his second LIV Golf start this weekend at the league’s Jeddah event, Adrian Meronk finished 10 under and tied for 6th, earning him a hefty check for $508,750.
That’s nearly $95k more than the 30-year-old has made in 14 career starts on the PGA Tour. But, the World No. 50 could have made almost $250k more this week had he just not taken so much time on the 18th hole Sunday.
Meronk was slapped with a one-stroke penalty for slow penalty during the final round of LIV Golf Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, changing his birdie 4 to a par 5 and knocking him from a two-way tie for 5th with Jon Rahm to a six-way tie for 6th with the likes of Phil Mickelson and Talor Gooch.
The winnings for a two-way tie for 5th place on LIV Golf? $750k.
According to a press release from LIV, Meronk’s group, which also included Rahm and Kevin Na, was officially warned about their pace after the 10th hole after starting on No. 2. They were then put on the clock after No. 14 later meaning each of their shots was officially timed.
LIV’s pace of policy allows players 40 seconds to hit a shot when it’s their turn to play and an additional 10 seconds when they are first to play a stoke in their group. This mirrors the maximum times allowed on the PGA Tour as well.
“On the second stroke of the 18th hole, Adrian Meronk, who was first to play, received a time exceeding 2 minutes for his stroke,” the release said. “This exceeded the allotted time per the policy. Meronk was immediately notified by an official and assessed a one-stroke penalty. With the one-stroke penalty, Meronk’s score of 4 on the par-5 18th hole resulted in a score of 5.”
Meronk rebounded on his final hole, No. 1, with a birdie to get to 10 under, but he finished seven shots behind Joaquin Niemann, who won the event by four for his second-straight LIV title to start the season. He did not speak to the media after the round.
This is the second time LIV Golf has docked a player for slow play in its three-year existence. Richard Bland was penalized for taking one minute to hit a shot last July at LIV Golf Valderrama.
Slow-play penalties are rare and are enforced by events or tours. The last one in an official PGA Tour event came during the first round of the 2021 PGA Championship when John Catlin was docked a stroke. But the PGA Tour itself has not enforced a slow-play penalty since the 2017 Zurich Classic when it did so for the first time in 20 years
Per the Rules of Golf, Rule 5.6b states: “It is recommended that you make the stroke in no more than 40 seconds after you are (or should be) able to play without interference or distraction.”
