Siem ends an almost nine-year wait, win Indian Open golf - Hindustan Times
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Siem ends an almost nine-year wait, win Indian Open golf

By, Gurugram
Feb 26, 2023 10:23 PM IST

The 42-year-old won by one shot for his first victory on the European Tour since 2014, after a final day battle in the Hero Indian Open with fellow German and overnight leader Yannik Paul

In a see-saw battle on a Sunday afternoon awash in golden sunshine, Marcel Siem shone the brightest, and not just for his flamboyant, floral t-shirt or his infectious grin. The 42-year-old held his nerve to end a nine-year drought for victory in the European Tour, now called the DP World Tour.

Marcel Siem won the Indian Open.(Twitter)
Marcel Siem won the Indian Open.(Twitter)

Siem won the $2 million Hero Indian Open at the DLF Golf and Country Club by one shot. He edged out compatriot and overnight leader Yannik Paul – the 26-year-old had led in the first three rounds – in a thrilling finish. It also saw a bunched up top leaderboard, where two shots separated the top three.

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One shot behind Paul going into the final round, Siem took the lead only for Paul to catch up on the 13th, where Siem’s bogey and Paul’s birdie tied their scores at the top. Siem shot a four-under 68 to finish at 14-under (274) for the tournament. Paul, runner-up at last week's Thailand Classic, shot 13-under 275 after a bogey-free 70. Dutchman Joost Luiten was third after a final round 68 (12-under 276).

“To win after so long feels very special. My goal this week was a top-10, but coming off a top-20 finish last week (T17 in Thailand) to win the competition is unbelievable,” Siem said. The German had four wins on the European tour between 2004 and 2014 but then the title drought set in. It also must have been a humbling experience to secure his DP World Tour card for 2023 at the qualifying school in November.

All that frustration evaporated on Sunday evening.

Paul had a bogey-free round but could find only two birdies. He started one shot ahead but Siem drew level with a birdie on the fourth. That set in motion the cat-and-mouse game between them. Siem, a veteran of over 500 European tour appearances, used all his experience to tackle the tough course as the two stayed together.

Both birdied the eighth before Siem birdied the 10th and 11th to go two shots up. But Siem’s a bogey on the 13th, which Paul birdied, level them level again. The par-5 15th provided a crucial twist after Siem’s 15-foot birdie putt in one of the toughest holes helped regain the lead while Paul could not.

At the 18th, Siem just escaped finding water with this third shot, but a par was enough as Paul could not find the birdie that would have forced a playoff. A nervous Siem almost found the lake guarding the green with a wedge shot, only to be fortuitously saved by the very undulation that had proved the undoing of many before him.

"I made it a little bit too difficult for myself at the 18th. The pressure was on and Joost and Yannik were really pushing it," Siem said.

Luiten, after attacking the pin, missed an eagle putt before settling for birdie and two shots off the lead. As soon as he holed to a roar from the fans, Siem flung his cap, tossed his putter and threw up his arms, a 25-year journey as a pro having reached a defining moment.

"On a course like this, it is very easy for the putt to swerve away from the pin, so I kept it short. I think I read the greens better today," Siem said. "If you attack this course, it bites you really bad. All I wanted to do was hit fairways and greens. I know my iron game is really good so I wanted to stay patient and wait for the rest to make mistakes."

Siem credited his physical trainer and life coach for keeping him going through the years in oblivion. "I have begun to love life and myself more than ever. I tried to change my natural swing a few years back to hit longer and keep up with the current lot but ended up injuring myself. Having a life coach helped me understand myself better in that period," he said.

Among the Indians, the best were Veer Ahlawat and Shubhankar Sharma finished with an identical 4-under 284 to be tied 13th. Angad Cheema’s hopes of a top-10 finish vanished with a quadruple bogey on the final hole. He ended tied 20th with Honey Baisoya, who saw bogeys on the seventh and 14th, and double bogey on the ninth push him down the leaderboard.

"It was a much better day. I didn't really have my best on the back nine all week, but today was quite nice. I had two mediocre days in between but didn't play as badly as the scores suggest. Perhaps on any other course, I would have finished under par on Days 2 and 3 with the way I played here, but not at this venue," Sharma, a two-time DP World Tour winner said.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Shantanu Srivastava is an experienced sports journalist who has worked across print and digital media. He covers cricket and Olympic sports.

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