| The four-time European Tour winner finished in fifth place at last week’s Kaskáda Golf Challenge, which included an impressive 64 in round two, and was the German’s first top ten finish since his fourth place at the Dormy Open in Sweden earlier this year.
Siem climbed into the top 20 on the Road to Mallorca Rankings following his solid displaying in the Czech Republic and now has his sights set on regaining his European Tour card.
I got myself back into the top 20 which is the most important thing for the season now and it is always nice to have a top five,” he said. “The European Tour is everything for me. I have played the last 18 or 19 years on the European Tour and I’m 40 now, I made a living out of playing on the European Tour.
I am really looking forward to the next few tournaments as I’ve got to know the Challenge Tour a bit now. It is well run, there’s good people around and I feel comfortable here, but the aim is to return to the European Tour as quick as possible.”
The German lauded the quality of the Challenge Tour and admits it is not easy to earn graduation, with so many players fighting for one of the top 20 spots.
I spoke to my dad about it last night and I think it’s tougher to finish in the top 20 on the Challenge Tour than the top 120 on the European Tour to be honest, he said.
Everyone tells me that it should be easy for me out here but it isn’t, it’s really tough. The guys can play and last week you saw that, everyone birdied the last few holes showing that they’re good under pressure even though they’re so young. It’s not easy on the Challenge Tour.
Siem turned professional over 20 years ago but is hungrier than ever for success and has extra inspiration with his daughter on the course with him this week.
It’s a job for me, it’s not a holiday, he said. I have to put everything that I have into it and it’s my 12th week in a row now – I haven’t had a single break. I have never done this before, the longest I’ve played before was five weeks in a row. With COVID you never know if tournaments will be cancelled so I feel I need to play.
I’ve got my daughter with me this week and she motivates me. I love golf and I love my job so I think that is what keeps me running. |
