At the end of the 149th British Open, Marcel Siem, the 41-year-old Rhinelander, was one of the winners of the last major of the year - a man who no one had on the bill and suddenly played among the greats.
On Sunday, the blatant underdog went from ninth place to the last round at the Royal St. Georges Golf Club in Sandwich, in the end he ended up on a tied 15th place.
Six strokes behind the then leading South African Louis Oosthuizen, he had the last 18 holes on Sunday, which he completed with a round of 71 (1 over par), but in contrast to the frontrunner's closest pursuers, the Americans Collin Morikawa, who also won in the end, and Jordan Spieth, who, one and three strokes behind, had some legitimate hopes for victory, the Ratinger only said: “This is the best Golf I've ever played on such an important one Tournament.
I am proud of myself.
I will do everything tomorrow to achieve a good result. "
Good punches, lots of emotions
Even before the final round, the German had not only caused a sensation with rounds of 67, 67 and 70 strokes. The 1.89-meter-tall veteran, who ties his long, dark-blonde mane in a knot for golf, delighted the fans not only with good strokes, but also with how openly he showed his emotions. After every sunk birdie putt, he clenched his fist, which he swung powerfully up into an air hook, thanked elegantly with two fingers after a good tee shot or even applauded when the 32,000 spectators celebrated him. “It's not typically German, but that's how I am. If it goes well, it just comes out of me. ”, Explained the new crowd favorite, why he demonstrates his feelings so impressively.
At least on the first three days, things went more than well for Siem, especially for a professional who was one of the last to qualify for the oldest of the four majors in France. With his victory on the penultimate Sunday at the Le Vaudreuil Challenge on the Challenge Tour, the second division of the European Tour, Siem made a surprise move into the field. His first victory since his triumph at the BMW Masters in Shanghai in November 2014 - incidentally the last victory of a German on the European Tour - brought him up from 488th to 302nd in the world rankings.
“I have to be humble. I come out of nowhere, ”said Siem after, in contrast to his compatriot Martin Kaymer, he not only survived the cut, but was even in shared sixth place at halftime. Things didn't go so well on Saturday, a distorted tee shot out of bounds on the 14th hole cost him a triple bogey on this par 5 hole. But even this setback he put away. With two birdies on the 16th and 18th holes, he stayed in the top ten after three days thanks to a par round of 70 strokes.
A terrific achievement for a man who fell out of the top 1000 of the pecking order a year ago and is currently trying to qualify for the European Tour, a tournament series that Siem has won four times. In 2014 he moved up to 51st place in the world rankings and tried in vain to get into the top 50, which are eligible for all majors and major tournaments. To achieve this goal, he switched coaches and tried to change his swing: “I wanted to swing a little like Dustin Johnson. That spoiled everything for me. I injured my shoulder as a result and I still suffer from it today, ”says Siem of the unsuccessful attempt to imitate the American world number one.
After missing the cut thirty times in 44 tournaments on the European Tour and losing his eligibility to play in 2018, Siem experienced bitter times: “The last few years have been tough. The sponsors are gone. No more prize money is received, but the costs remain the same. You are no longer allowed to play in the big tournaments. I wasn't sure if I should continue. I lost my momentum and was injured, ”remembers Siem.
It was difficult for him to dare to start over on the Challenge Tour. “You shouldn't complain all the time that you've lost your tour card. You have to accept where you are. It's the only way forward and the reason I won in France, ”said Siem. With the victory, he moved up to third place in the Challenge Tour ranking, so he is well on the way to securing promotion to the European Tour again.
“I thought for a long time whether I would rather play on the Challenge Tour this week at the Euram Bank Open in Ramsau. Because for me the most important thing is to come back on the European Tour. But when I heard that ten percent of the prize money of the British Open would be counted towards the ranking of the Challenge Tour, the decision was an easy one for me, ”said Siem, explaining why he is once again playing in a major after 2015 and his 41st birthday on Thursday celebrated the south coast of England. Because The Open Championship, as the tournament is officially called, has increased the prize money significantly this year. The winner receives $ 2.07 million, a place in the top ten brings more than $ 200,000 - a lot of money compared to Siem's latest winner's check of 33,600 euros.