Double Masters winning Bernhard Langer is full of praise for countryman Marcel Siem after his superb showing at last week’s Open Championship.
Siem was the among the last to qualify for golf’s oldest major in winning on the secondary Challenge Tour and then just four days later he endeared himself not only to those present at Royal St. George’s but those around the world watching coverage of golf’s oldest major.
The four-time European Tour winning Siem was well in contention over the opening three rounds with scores of 67 following by a 41st birthday celebration of a second round 67 plus a third day 70 ahead of a closing 71 to finish on five-under and in a share of 15th place.
Siem has now contested five Open Champioships since 2010 and with Sunday’s result a dozen places better than his tie for 27th eleven years ago at the Home of Golf.
Marcel Siem endeared himself to everyone with his passion at last week’s Open Championship
The effort lifted him to 152nd on the Race to Dubai after missing the cut in his only other two main Tour events this season while he remains in second place on the secondary Road to Mallorca and from where Siem looks to regain full main Tour membership for 2021.
Langer, and a winner of an incredible 117 pro events around the globe but also team-mate to Siem when they combined to win the 2009 World Cup of Golf, was asked he reaction to Siem’s performance ahead of the soon-to-be 64-year old’s defence of his British Seniors Open title at Sunningdale.
“I thought Marcel’s efforst last week at The Open were terrific and basically for a guy who had gone off the charts, and off the scene for two or three years and to fight his way back and being really good golf for the past three weeks, and to be back on the Majors scene playing well on a tough golf and venue, and to be on the leaderboard pretty much all week, was phenomenal,” said Langer.
“He showed he has a lot of talent and a lot of fight in him and I am very proud of him that Marcel made it through this lull in his career and hopefully he will get his tour card back and go from strenght to strength”.
And Langer was praiseworthy of now fellow double Major winning Collin Morikawa in the manner he spoke directly to leading amatuer, Germany’s Matthias Schmid at last Sunday’s Open Championship presentation ceremony.
“We all get caught-up in the day-to-day scene of golf and sometimes it does seem like life-and-death and it’s not as there’s a bigger picture, so Moikawa’s advice to Matthias was great,” said Langer.
“Matthias needs to enjoy the process as it is a process and it doesn’t happen overnight.
“Some of us can be too serious in the moment and don’t enjoy the process as the way we should.”
