THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome DP World Tour member Adrian Meronk into the interview room here at the Honda Classic. Adrian is teeing it up this week as a designated international player exempt by the commissioner and competed last week at the Genesis Invitational on a sponsor exemption. You mentioned the jet lag walking in here last week, but how excited are you to have another opportunity to tee it up on the PGA TOUR?
ADRIAN MERONK: Thank you for having me. Really excited. It's always been my goal to play on the PGA TOUR, so I'm really grateful for this opportunity to play last week, this week, and following weeks, as well. It's very good for me.
I had a great year last year on DP World Tour, and I want to take my game on the next level.
Q. Coming into this week No. 53 in the Official World Golf Ranking, top 50 after this week get into THE PLAYERS Championship in a couple weeks. How much is that on your mind going into this week, and are you looking forward to that opportunity if presented?
ADRIAN MERONK: Yeah, of course. I just need to focus on my game, play well this week, and hopefully it's enough. I can't do much more than this, so hopefully it will be enough, and yeah, that would be amazing to play PLAYERS for sure.
Q. Along those lines, how difficult is it to not peek at projections and look to see where you are when you're that close to it? How do you block that out, or can you?
ADRIAN MERONK: You can't really block it out. I keep checking the ranking every week, to be honest. But as I said, you can't really control it. You have to focus on your game, on each shot, play the best you can, and then if it's enough on Sunday, it's enough. If not, you just accept it and move forward and focus on the next goal.
Q. You talked about how well you played last season. Certainly you continued that form going into this season. Your name is starting to pop up on the Ryder Cup list. What's your reaction when you see that you're close to something, and what are your first memories of the Ryder Cup?
ADRIAN MERONK: That's a good question. Probably when I was a kid. I don't remember, like five, six, watching with dad. I don't really remember exactly which Ryder Cup it was. But the one I remember is when Kaymer made the winning putt. I think it was at Medinah if I'm not wrong.
But yeah, that would be an amazing achievement for me, and it's always been also my goal to play in the Ryder Cup. I know it's still a long time to go, but to be in this group of guys who are considered to be on the team, it's very special for me, and I'll do anything I can to make the team.
Q. There's a new exemption category for the top DP World players to play on the PGA TOUR. How much does that interest you, playing full-time in the United States?
ADRIAN MERONK: Yeah, as I said at the beginning, it's always been my goal. I spent four years in college in the States, and since I graduated, I always wanted to come back and play on the PGA [TOUR]. That's where the best players are. That's where the best golf is, so that's where I want to be.
Q. Is this the first week you've stepped on this course?
ADRIAN MERONK: Yes, this is the first week. I just played the first time yesterday.
Q. Just talk about, it's got a reputation, it's a challenging course. Just talk a little bit about it.
ADRIAN MERONK: Yeah, it's very nice. I like it. I have to hit really good shots. It's really difficult. Probably it's going to be quite windy. It's quite rewarding I would say, so if you play your good golf, you'll be fine. I like these types of courses. It's a little bit different than last week. But yeah, played 18 holes yesterday, and I'm going to walk the course today just to get mentally ready for tomorrow.
Q. You mentioned you played college golf here. What was that process? How did you find East Tennessee or how did they find you?
ADRIAN MERONK: So I played a lot of junior tournaments when I was 16 to 18 years old, and then Fred Warren, the coach of ETSU, approached me at one of those tournaments and said if I'm interested to play college golf, and I said yes, and I got a scholarship.
To be honest, my first year in Tennessee was a little bit of a shock, culture shock, language shock. Like everything was just different. So I struggled a little bit my first year, but then after that it was a lot of fun playing with all of these guys on a high level and just learning about myself and about my golf game, and that was, I think, great preparation for professional golf.
Q. You're kind of bigger than other golfers. I'm curious growing up, how did you gravitate towards golf and did you play other sports?
ADRIAN MERONK: Yeah, I played a lot of sports. I used to play a lot of basketball, volleyball, football, as well, and I was skiing a lot. But golf was in our family since I remember. My dad used to play a lot. Every vacation was on the golf course and stuff like that.
I would play since I was six or five years old. As I said, at the beginning there was other sports, as well, and then I took golf more seriously when I was 14, 15 years old when I started winning some junior golf tournaments back in Poland and I was enjoying the practice, the competition, and the thing that golf is an individual sport so I can control everything on my own. That's what made me pursue my career in golf.
Q. Other than golf, what sport were you best at?
ADRIAN MERONK: I would say if I didn't play golf, I would probably be a volleyball player.
Q. What did it mean to represent Poland at the 2020 Olympic Games? I feel like we're talking about opportunities you may have in the future, but how much is Paris on your mind in 2024?
ADRIAN MERONK: Yeah, I already played in Tokyo, which was amazing. I love Olympic Games. I watched every single Olympic Games in my life, I think. To be able to represent Poland in Tokyo, seeing all these athletes, staying in the village, it was just a dream come true. I think Olympics is a big, big part of me, as well, so I'm looking forward to Paris.
THE MODERATOR: Adrian, we appreciate your time, and best of luck this week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports