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Adrian Meronk opens 3-shot lead at Dunhill Championship, first player from Poland to lead Euro Tour event

Even with a bogey on the final hole of each of the day’s nines, Adrian Meronk took a commanding lead after the second day of the Alfred Dunhill Championship, becoming the first player from Poland ever to lead any round on the European Tour.

The event, which is held in unison by the European and Sunshine Tours, is being played at the picturesque Leopard Creek Country Club in Malelane, a small farming town in the northeast part of South Africa. Earlier in the day, the European Tour and PGA Tour announced a new alliance, with a release noting that the PGA Tour will buy a minority stake in the European Tour’s media production company.

Meronk followed Thursday’s 65 with a solid 66 on Friday, using six birdies and an eagle to take a three-stroke lead. The Polish product played collegiately at East Tennessee State University and has one victory on the Challenge Tour.

Joachim B. Hansen fired a 64 on Friday and is three shots behind Meronk, as is Richard Bland.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout, the highest-ranked player in the field, shot a 68 on Friday, moving into a tie for sixth place.

The event is one of the most intriguing on the European Tour because the course sits in a small enclave along the Crocodile River. The setting is so spectacular because just across the river sits Kruger National Park, one of Africa’s largest game reserves.

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