SAITAMA, Japan – The opening round of the 2021 Olympics has come and gone and former Buccaneer men’s golfer Adrian Meronk wrapped up his debut with a 1-over-par (72) at Kasumigaseki East Course in Saitama, Japan.
 
Meronk, currently sitting in a four-way tie for 48th, concluded his debut in the early hours of Thursday morning (ET). After being introduced on the tee, Meronk found the fairway with his opening drive and officially marked the first Polish golfer to ever compete in the Olympics.
 
Meronk began his round with a string of four consecutive pars until the fifth hole when he carded his first red number with a birdie on the par-5. The following hole, Meronk moved to 2-under-par after throwing a dart into the green, resulting in a tap-in birdie on the sixth. The Poland native played the final three holes of the opening nine at even par with one birdie and one bogey, taking the turn at 2-under-par (34).
 
The back nine did not favor Meronk as much, as he posted a double bogey on the par-4 11th hole to fall to even-par for the event. The Poland native bounced back with five consecutive pars before carding his final bogey of the day on the par-4 17th hole. Meronk concluded his opening round with a par on the 18th green, resulting in a 1-over-par (72) scorecard to begin action in the Olympics.
 
Meronk will continue to play alongside Kristian K. (KK) Johannessen (Norway) and Gunn Charoenkul (Thailand) in the second round. The trio have the final tee time of the round and will take the course at 10:09 p.m. (ET) on Thursday night.
 
Fans interested in watching the live coverage can do so on The Golf Channel from 6:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. (ET).