Marcel Siem completed a remarkable comeback from injury as he beat Tom McKibbin in a play-off to win his sixth DP World Tour title at the Italian Open presented by Regione Emilia-Romagna.
Related: Shubhankar, Rozner among contenders at Italian Open
Playing in just his fourth tournament since returning from hip surgery, the German holed a crucial birdie putt on the last hole in regulation to force a play-off against McKibbin, who set the clubhouse target two and a half hours prior after his six under par round of 65.
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Siem was cruising after carding three birdies on the front nine, reaching 13 under par, but four dropped shots on the back nine saw him trail the Northern Irishman by one as he stood on the 18th tee. He hit his approach to 22 feet and holed the birdie putt to sign for a level par 71, matching McKibbin’s ten under par total.
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On the first extra hole, the pair both found the green, but McKibbin’s putt crept past the cup, opening the door for Siem. The German made no mistake again as he rolled his putt in to claim his second victory in just over a year, following on from his Hero Indian Open success last February.
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There was some consolation for McKibbin as his runner-up finish secured a place at The 152nd Open as part of The Open Qualifying Series. He will be joined at Royal Troon by Sean Crocker of the United States, who carded a three under par 68 for a nine under par total and a share of third.
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Joining Crocker on that number was Germany’s Jannik De Bruyn, who carded a two under par final round 69. Andrea Pavan finished the week as leading Italian on eight under par in a share of fifth alongside Adri Arnaus of Spain, American James Nicholas, Shubhankar Sharma of India and Frenchman Antoine Rozner.
Player Quotes
Marcel Siem: “It was really, really tough. You saw the scoreboard. Everybody was making bogeys and doubles, it was really tough, the wind was swirling. The pins were tucked in the corners, which was, for me, perfect. Wind off the right and pins on the right. But it was really tough out there. All the hole locations were in the shade, it was really tough to read the putts. Holing that putt on 18 was one of the coolest moments in golf. To do it again in a playoff was fantastic.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. I feel like I’m getting really tired. The two celebrations on 18 they took the rest out of me. But it’s just amazing. I love this sport and these moments, I work really hard for them. When you get rewarded like this, it’s a very special moment. I think it’s the second oldest trophy on mainland Europe. So I’ve got the French Open and this one now, I’m so proud of that. My journey is just beginning, it feels like. I don’t know what to say.
“From day one, the people were so nice to me and cheering me on. Every time I come to Italy people are super nice to me. I love the fire. The Italians are very emotional people and the culture fits a bit more to my type of personality as well. It clicks with them. Thank you so much guys, I’m really happy.”
