Marcel Siem: "I wanna get my card back first"

Marcel Siem is so determined to regain his card on the European Tour that he almost turned down his place in the field at The 2021 Open Championship.

Marcel Siem, statements

“I saw I was third on the Rankings but I was still thinking ‘Am I ready for the big stage?' I want to get my card back first and foremost. I heard that 10 per cent of the Open prize money goes towards the Challenge Tour Rankings so then it was a no-brainer to come here. It’s the best event in the world. I’m glad I’m here now. I’ve made the right decision. I have to stay humble. I lost my card, I’m coming from nowhere and I will definitely try my best to compete but I can’t give any predictions. I will definitely try to play my best and stay calm and hopefully I will be up on the leaderboard somewhere. It’s been tough the last few years,” he said. “Sponsors have all gone, you have a certain lifestyle that you’re used to and that goes. You can’t play the big events any more, there’s no prize money coming in but the costs are still there. I feel I belong on the main tour. But if you don’t accept that you have lost your tour card and you still think you are a European Tour player and you should have a caddie and you should be playing for two million euro, you can’t compete on the Challenge Tour. You are grumpy, you are upset. Once you make friends and accept where you are, that’s the only way forward. I’m glad I understood that. That’s the reason I won. You have to show the Challenge Tour respect.”

The Renaissance Club is nothing if not adaptable, and CEO Jerry Sarvadi is continuing to champion change in a bid to keep up with the ever-advancing technological landscape of professional golf with the hiring of player consultant Padraig Harrington.

Earlier last week, both Harrington and Sarvadi were joined on a walk around the course by his brother Paul and the European Tour’s Senior Tournament Director Mike Stewart and Senior Tournament Agronomy Consultant Eddie Adams as they discussed potential changes.

These discussions come just a year after Sarvadi unveiled a brand new challenge for players teeing up at the abrdn Scottish Open venue, which came in the form of a new layout, quicker greens, the rough untrampled and four new tees at the first, second, 15th and 16th that added a combined distance of roughly 300 yards.

The construction of the new championship tee at the first was to change the angle of play and provide a much-enhanced view of the landing area – and it’s that idea of viewing that Sarvadi put as one key motivator for change. The layout, which saw holes 1-7 and 10-16 of the 2019 layout flipped, was to allow the course’s most striking holes along the Firth of Forth to be presented on the back nine.

For Harrington, the opportunity is an exciting change to give his insight, but the Ryder Cup Europe Captain is equally keen to make sure that any change would positively impact the amateur experience, too.

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