There are wins, and then there are wins that mean a little more. Adrian Meronk’s victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday 4 October was one of the latter. It was his first title in nearly three years, it came at the event where he made his professional debut ten years ago, and it secured his playing status for next season.
What happened at St Andrews
According to the DP World Tour’s report, Meronk started the final round two shots behind Casey Jarvis. He birdied the first from 35 feet and the second from 10 feet to draw level, then pulled ahead for good at the 12th with an 11-foot birdie putt. A closing 67 on the Old Course left him at 20 under, two clear of Jarvis and Denmark’s Niklas Nørgaard.
The tour noted that his last win came at the 2023 Andalucía Masters, a gap of 1,078 days. Meronk had been 141st on the Race to Dubai Ranking going into the week, so the win also protected his card.
He and his amateur partner Tom Chaplin also won the Team Championship. That made Meronk only the third player in the event’s 25-year history to win both titles.
The official points and prize money list shows Tommy Fleetwood and Scotland’s Michael Stewart tied for fourth at 17 under, with Fleetwood’s final-round 64 the lowest of the day.
The quote that stuck with us
Asked about the walk up the 18th, Meronk said: “When you cross the bridge, you look, you know, around, the people, the history.” He admitted he was thinking about Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, “asking for that, you know, good momentum, good energy from them”.
We like that. It’s a reminder that tour players feel the moment too, and that enjoying it can be part of handling it.
What club golfers can take from Meronk’s week
1. Form comes back if the process is sound
Meronk described this year as “quite tough”. Nearly three years without a win is a long time at that level. But the ability doesn’t vanish. When the fundamentals are solid, results tend to return.
The same applies to amateurs. If you’ve had a rough summer, don’t rebuild your swing out of frustration. Check the basics first: tempo, balance, posture. Often the slump is a small drift, not a broken swing.
2. Links golf rewards a stable base
Firm ground and wind expose any instability in the swing. If your hips slide or your head drifts, the low point of the swing moves and contact suffers. On a links course, a thin or heavy strike gets punished more than usual.
3. Recover from the mistake that’s coming
Even on the way to winning, Meronk went over the back of the 17th and dropped a shot. Every round has a moment like that. What matters is the next swing. A consistent routine helps you reset rather than react.
A simple autumn practice plan
As the weather turns and the courses firm up or soften, here are three things we’d suggest:
- Low punch shots with a three-quarter swing. Focus on keeping your head centred and your hips turning rather than sliding.
- A tempo check at the start of every session. Make five smooth swings and note how your rhythm feels before you start hitting balls hard.
- One “pressure” ball per bucket. Pretend it’s the 18th at St Andrews. Full routine, full commitment.
DE-SHANK can help with the second and third. Prop up your phone, tap the mic and say “record”. You’ll hear feedback from our voice coach and see scores for tempo, head movement, hip sway and posture change. Tracking and scoring run on your phone and work offline after the first load (voice commands need a connection, or just tap record), which is handy at a breezy range. Read more about how it works.
DE-SHANK gives estimates from one camera view. It’s designed for practice feedback, to help you spot habits and track trends.
Our take
Meronk’s win was a story of patience paying off, on one of golf’s great stages. For the rest of us, it’s a timely reminder heading into the darker months: trust a sound process, check your fundamentals before you start tinkering, and enjoy the good moments when they arrive.
More stories are in our Golf News section.
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