Luke Donald’s decision in 2023 shocked the golf community. Captain of Team Europe in the 2023 Ryder Cup, Luke Donald had some tough choices to make. While he already had the top 6 players lined up to form a formidable squad, Donald needed to pick 6 more based on his research since being elected as captain.

While we now know how good his picks were, back then, every decision Luke Donald took was scrutinized. When it was time to choose between Nicolai Hojgaard and Adrian Meronk, fans assumed that the latter would be a favorite. But things didn’t turn out the way they imagined.

Adrian Meronk and the golf community were stunned to learn that Hojgaard was Donald’s preferred choice. Then 23 years of age, Hojgaard didn’t have the same level of experience as Meronk. After all, the Polish golfer had won the Italian Open there. Meronk turned pro back in 2016 and had been a part of the Tour for 7 years last year. Moreover, he was on a great run with two DP World Tour wins in 2023.

Donald spoke about the entire situation with D.J. and Tron in a No Laying Up podcast on YouTube a few hours ago. When D.J. asked Luke Donald how he ended up picking the team that he did while leaving out certain players, the latter replied, “That’s the toughest part of being the captain. Leaving those guys out.” Reflecting on the way things went about, Donald said, “Certainly, we could have taken a couple of other guys that could have made a difference on that team and done well.”

Explaining how he ended up choosing the 6 players, the former Team Europe captain said, “This was 14 months of me just trying to study these players and understand their strengths, their weaknesses, and what they could bring and how they could fit into the whole picture.” Validating his reasons to take Hojgaard over Meronk among the other 5 players, Donald said, “I was pretty happy with whom I had picked, to be honest. I was pretty comfortable.”

Considering how things turned out in the end, there is no question that Luke Donald picked the right team. Team Europe’s triumphant victory against their rivals in the 2023 Ryder Cup is the perfect evidence for that. Luke Donald’s squad captured 16 1/2 points as compared to the 11 1/2 gathered by opposing captain Zach Johnson. However, after being snubbed for a 2023 Ryder Cup place, Adrian Meronk left the PGA Tour and joined LIV Golf.

Meronk has previously stated how upset he was for losing his place to Nicolai Hojgaard, a pro he believes he outperformed in 2023. But Meronk is now happy and content at LIV.

Has Adrian Meronk forgotten about his 2023 Snub?

“Not making the Ryder Cup team definitely opened my eyes to the fact that I need to focus on myself, my career, my game and my life. I realized that the Ryder Cup is not the most important thing in the world. I would love to play, and if I perform well enough next year I could qualify. But it’s not my priority. Before the last match it was all I thought about. I was checking the rankings every week,” said Meronk.

“It was tough to take, especially after the year I had. But I accepted it. Maybe it was a good decision. The team did well. Of course, you can get away with anything if you win. But I’ve moved on. I hope I will have other opportunities to qualify,” the former Tour pro continued.

“I have enjoyed my time there on the Cleeks team. The competition is strong, especially at the top end. To finish in the top 10, you have to play very good golf. I played just OK this year and finished only 18th [with earning just short of $5.5 million] on the money list. But I certainly have no regrets about the decision I made,” with him now focusing on the LIV Golf for the 2025 season, one can assume that he does not feel as bad about the snub.

Do you think that the result of the 2023 Ryder Cup would have been any different had Luke Donald picked Adrian Meronk over Nicolai Hojgaard? Share your views in the comments section.