Marcel Siem has seen one of the most astonishing comebacks on the DP World Tour. Last year, the 44-year-old underwent hip surgery, after which he returned to the DP World Tour in May. But how has his return been? Since his post-surgery comeback, he has been struggling on the DP World Tour, as he missed two consecutive cuts: the Soudal Open and the European Open.

However, soon the Italian pro recovered from his injury and lagging form. At the 2024 Italian Open, Siem was playing the third round and fighting hard for his sixth DP World Tour win. Amidst that, Siem got into a heated debate with his caddie, Wian Verster.

The two were seen arguing about which club to use for a particular shot. In the end, the Italian pro went with his choice and birdied the hole, eventually entering the final round to defeat Tom McKibbin. Did the two stay together even after the disagreement at the Italian Open? Fortunately, yes. After his Italian Open win, Siem is there on the Royal troon greens for the 152nd Open with Verster.

The two have been together since the 2022 Dunhill Links, and even after the disagreement, Siem didn’t let his caddie go and forgave the bag man. Pretty much like Rory McIlroy did after the Pinehurst mishap. Not that McIlroy thought it was his caddie’s fault, but the golf world did. At the Royal Troon, the Italian has been seen playing with Verster and looking to top the leaderboard for his first major win. The pair have been trying to make fewer bogeys and survive the 3-over cutline.

Though it might be a daunting task, the duo might play better and turn out to be winners, as they did at the Italian Open. From not winning on the European circuit for nine long years to carding two victories in the last two years, Siem’s journey has been inspiring yet difficult. Everything did not fall into place as easily, and the 6-time DP World Tour winner had to overcome his dreadful decision that he took a decade ago.

What was Marcel Siem’s biggest regret?

The 44-year-old’s career had taken a back seat in the 2018 season as he had to return to the Challenge Tour after playing poorly on the DP World Tour. This astounding turn of events was the result of a decision Marcel Siem took in 2014. At the peak point in his career that year, the Italian pro was on the verge of changing his top 50 rank on the OWGR to something better.

However, after making a drastic decision, everything changed. Siem changed his coach in 2014 after winning the BMW Masters, as he didn’t want to be stagnant in his career but regretted it soon after. He said, “I tried a bit of Dustin Johnson style over the wrist, and that screwed everything up. I strained my shoulder. I’m still fighting with it. That was the worst decision I ever made in my life.”

Now a decade later, Siem has managed to recover from his mishap and won three titles: once on the Challenge Tour at the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge, which secured him a place at the 2021 Open Championship, and two other times (the Hero Indian Open and the Italian Open) on the DP World Tour. Since then, Siem has tried to stick with his swing style and make it work. As evident, it has worked for him twice in 2023 and 2024, and coming at the 152nd Open, it might aid him once again!