Adrian Meronk has won the Andalucía Masters on the DP World Tour after a final round 66 which featured two eagles.
Germany’s Matti Schmid led the tournament after three rounds at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande but could only post a 71 on Sunday as he was overtaken by the Pole, whose 16-under-par total was enough for a one-shot victory.
With this win, Meronk moves to third in the Race to Dubai rankings behind Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, and he is back into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings. It is his third victory this season after previous victories in Italy and Australia, and his first after controversially missing out on a wildcard pick for the victorious European Ryder Cup team in Rome.
“It was a tough tournament, tough weather, I didn’t have my best golf on the first day so to win the tournament is very special. I’m over the moon.”
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Meronk was three over after nine holes in his first round and recovered and it was a similar story on Sunday, going two over for his first three holes. The fortunes of the round changed, however, with an eagle at the sixth and he holed out from 120 yards for another at the ninth to go out in 34.
The 30-year-old had three birdies on the back nine and it was enough to overhaul Schmid, who bogeyed the 16th to give Meronk a lead he kept until the end.
Ireland’s Tom McKibbin finished tied 34th in Spain, rising 15 places in the final day with a round of 69, but the damage was done of a high placing after a 74 in round three.
On the PGA Tour, Collin Morikawa was back in the winner’s circle with a dominant victory at the Zozo Championship, finishing six shots ahead of Eric Cole and Beau Hossler.
The two-time Major champion had not won on the PGA Tour since his win at the Open Championship in July 2021, and nowhere around the world since winning the DP World Championship that year.
Morikawa trailed 54-hole leader Justin Suh by two strokes but as Suh faded to a nightmare final-day 74 for tied 10th place, Morikawa took charge of the tournament with four birdies on his front nine to go out in 30 shots. Three more birdies on the way in gave him a 63 and a 14-under-par total.
“It feels incredible. Every win’s so different, and every experience, whether it’s winning or losing, you learn a lot, but this one just meant the world,” Morikawa said.
Min Woo Lee shot a final-round 65 to finish tied sixth as he edged closer to his PGA Tour card as he watched his sister star again on the LPGA Tour, as Minjee Lee came out on top at the BMW Ladies Championship for her 10th LPGA Tour title. The Australian golfer beat Alison Lee in a playoff at South Korea’s Seowon Hills.
“Out of all the places [to win], Korea was always at the top of my list because my parents are Korean and I have a heritage to Korea. This one is special, and especially having all of my family and extended family and friends coming out to cheer for me today, it was really cool to see them on the sidelines when I was walking down. It was great that I was able to win,” she said.
Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow finished in a tie for 49th position on three under after a closing round of three-under-par 69.
