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Adrian Meronk sealed a single-shot victory on Sunday at DP World Tour's DS Automobiles Italian Open increasing the prospect of making a debut at the 2023 Ryder Cup later this year.
Meronk posted a score of 2-under 69 on the final day at Marco Simone Golf Club. It included six birdies and four bogeys. Two of the birdies came on the final three holes to leave Romain Langasque and Julien Guerrier behind who were leading at that point.
While Langasque finished third at 12-under, Guerrier ended in third place with 10-under. Alexander Björk jumped 8 places on Sunday after carding 3-under 68 in the fourth round, aggregating at 8 under.
This is the third European Tour victory of a 29-year-old Polish golfer. His previous two wins came at the Horizon Irish Open and ISPS Handa Australian Open last year.
The win on Sunday has strengthened Meronk's chances of making it in the European squad at Ryder Cup, which will be played at Marco Simone Golf Club in September.
Both the teams at the Ryder Cup consist of 12 players each. There are two ways to get into Team Europe: The six players get automatically selected and they include the top three in the European list and the top three in the World Point List.
The remaining six are picked by the non-playing captain as Captain's pick. Luke Donald is the captain of Team Europe.
Prior to the DS Automobiles Italian Open, Meronk was 16th in the European Point List for the 2023 Ryder Cup. After a win at Rome, he has jumped 11 spots to fifth. The four names ahead of him are Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Yannik Paul, and Victor Perez.
Tyrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Viktor Hovland lead the World Point List for the 2023 Ryder Cup. Meronk is 10th on the World Point List.
When is the 2023 Ryder Cup scheduled?
The 2023 Ryder Cup is scheduled to be played from September 29 to October 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club outside Rome, Italy. This is the first time the event is being hosted by Italy.
The Ryder Cup is named after English businessman Samuel Ryder and was first played in 1927. Initially played between Great Britain and the United States, the biennial event is played between teams from Europe and the United States, with the host nation switching between the two.
The first official Ryder Cup took was won by the United States. In 1979, Team Britain was expanded to Team Europe to extend the representation to the whole continent. Also, the results were pretty one-sided until then.
Prior to the expansion of Team Britain, the US has beaten them 18 times in comparison to just three wins. Since 1979, Europe has won 11 times compared to US' nine.
The 2021 Ryder Cup took place at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wisconsin, United States where the hosts created the tournament's record for largest victory margin. They beat Europe 19-9.
The 2023 Ryder Cup will be played in Fourball, foursome, and singles formats over three days. The first two days will include one four-match session of fourball and foursomes each. 12 singles matches will be played on the third and final day.
