Adrian Meronk recorded his fifth top-five of the season at the BMW International Open to narrow the gap between himself and Yannik Paul as he climbed into fourth spot on the European Points List.
The Pole made the most significant move of players bidding for one of the six automatic qualifying positions in the European Points Race last week with a tie for third at Golfclub München Eichenried on Sunday.
The 30-year-old, who triumphed in the DS Automobiles Italian Open at Ryder Cup venue Marco Simone Golf and Country Club earlier this season, birdied his final hole of the tournament for a four-under 68 to finish two behind eventual champion Thriston Lawrence.
His second top five in four weeks sees him overtake Victor Perez in the European Points List, who finished in a tie for 18th, to move just 24.24 points behind Paul – who withdrew prior to the event citing a back injury.
The three men have been in a constant tussle behind Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy for the third automatic qualifying spot as they all try to secure their place as rookies in Captain Luke Donald’s team this September. As it stands, Perez is just 67.1 points behind Meronk, and 91.34 points behind Paul.
Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy continued to impress as the best European in the field at the Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour with a fifth consecutive top ten.
A week after another narrow Major miss and runner-up finish at last week’s U.S. Open, the Northern Irishman followed up with his fourth top ten in four weeks. His consistent spell was underpinned with a hole-in-one and a final round 64, which ultimately left him five strokes behind winner Keegan Bradley.
Do it Rory!
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) June 22, 2023
A hole-in-one for @McIlroyRory 🎯 pic.twitter.com/8aJ9VraBZj
“Last Sunday feels like a month ago at this point,” McIlroy said., “but coming off the disappointment of the U.S. Open, coming straight here and sort of trying to refocus and forget about what happened in LA and tee it up here and play well, I thought was pretty good.
“It’s another good week and a solid performance after a long run,”
He currently sits just 14.48 points behind Rahm at the top of the European Points list, and 66.74 points behind the Spaniard at the top of the World Points list.
As it stands Jon Rahm (3,017.98 points), Rory McIlroy (3,003.50 points) and Yannik Paul (1,547.89 points) sit in the three automatic qualifying spots on the European Points List, with Viktor Hovland (252.98 points), Hatton (178.67 points) and Matt Fitzpatrick (149.78 points) in the top three positions on the World Points List.
The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place between September 25 – October 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Rome, Italy.
