Marcel Siem says he is still in “la-la land” after ending his eight-year wait for a fifth DP World Tour title but is determined not to lose his focus as he goes in search of further success at the Magical Kenya Open Presented by Absa.
The German claimed an emotional one-shot victory at the Hero Indian Open last time around, with the 2023 season resuming in Nairobi after a rest week following the end of last month’s Asian swing.
The 42-year-old won four DP World Tour titles between 2004 and 2014 before his long break from the winner’s circle, although he did win the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge on the European Challenge Tour in 2021.
Victory at DLF Golf and Country Club propelled Siem to eighth on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and he is relishing the opportunity to get into contention again this week.
“I haven’t hit a golf ball on Tour yet, but I practised last week in Mauritius,” he said.
“I was walking a few holes, wanted to get the kids out on the course and see how it is. I’m still in la-la land, everyone is congratulating me, it’s awesome getting the shoulder claps.
“It’s awesome, it was a life-changing week. But it’s now important to concentrate again, I don’t want to make the mistakes I made in the past. I want to prove I can be a multiple winner on Tour again, I want to show that I’m focused and have a good week. This week means a lot to me.”
Siem reached a career high of 48th in the Official World Golf Ranking a decade ago, during his period of winning three DP World Tour titles in consecutive years from 2012-14.
Since his victory in India, he has spoken about his desire to fulfil long-held goals of playing at the Masters Tournament and in a Ryder Cup.
After losing his card for the 2021 season, Siem played on the Challenge Tour in a bid to regain his card as his wife underwent treatment following a cancer diagnosis and he hopes his experiences during his career will help him in his pursuit.
“In ’12, ‘13’, 14’, I won once a year three years in a row, but I didn’t make the Ryder Cup team, I didn’t get into the Masters,” he said.
“I was very close, I was 51st. I want to do these things better now. I’m always an emotional guy, but getting older and having two kids, going through what I went through, it will help me be more patient with myself, nicer to myself, don’t push myself.
“I showed myself again that I’m able to win, especially on a tough golf course. Why shouldn’t I be able to win two or three more times? Saying that, it’s still very important for me to work on my fitness, which I’ve worked really hard on the last few years.”
Siem fought off the challenge of countryman Yannik Paul to win in India and he admits the depth in German golf at the moment is something that also fuels his desire to keep performing well.
“I thought about it (Maximilian Kieffer and Yannik Paul winning last year),” he said. “I like both of them very much. I didn’t think about being the last champion from Germany before them (in 2014).
“It’s definitely inspiring. We have that rivalry between each other, you want to help each other for sure, but there’s always that rivalry. Now it’s their turn again to catch me.”
