Slow-play penaty costs Meronk nearly $250K at LIV Jeddah
Adrian Meronk was one of six players who tied for sixth Sunday at LIV Jeddah.
He could’ve been a stroke better had he just played faster.
Meronk was penalized a shot for slow play while hitting a shot on the par-5 18th hole, Meronk’s 17th hole of the final round. Meronk’s birdie (4) was subsequently changed to a par (5). He finished the tournament at 10 under, a shot back of Rahm in solo fifth.
The infraction was costly financially, too, as Meronk would’ve earned $750,000 for a joint-fifth. He instead collected $508,750.
Per a LIV release, Meronk’s group, which also included Jon Rahm and Kevin Na, was given a pace-of-play warning by a rules official after the 10th hole. “The group was out of position on the golf course as well as behind in relation to time par,” LIV said. Four holes later, the group had further lost position and were officially put on the clock.
Players have 40 seconds to play a stroke and 10 additional seconds if they are the first to play. Meronk took over 2 minutes to play his second shot on No. 18. “This exceeded the allotted time per the policy,” LIV said. “Meronk was immediately notified by an official and assessed a one-stroke penalty.”
The slow-play penalty is the second such penalty in LIV’s short history. Richard Bland received the first last summer in Spain.