'I Didn't Cheat' - Tour Pro Explains BMW PGA Championship Disqualification

Marcel Siem took to social media to explain his bizarre disqualification from the first round of the BMW PGA Championship

Marcel Siem wearing a black Callaway cap and black sweater
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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Marcel Siem has had a tough couple of weeks, culminating in being disqualified from the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Siem had to withdraw from the Irish Open last week in the opening round due to a bad back, and things got worse for him at the DP World Tour's flagship event after a huge error on the 18th.

The 39-year-old German ended up wrongly completing the 18th with his provisional ball following an errant tee shot, after some confusion between his original being out of bounds or in a water hazard.

So instead of signing for a 78, Siem was disqualified after he himself only realized the error when he was about to sign his scorecard - and insisted it was just a mistake.

"I just wanted to let you know I didn't cheat," Siem explained on Instagram. "I would never do that, so I got disqualified, unfortunately.

"On 18, I pushed my driver to the right, hit a provisional thinking it's out of bounds on the right. Never knew it's a water hazard on the right.

"Anyways, found my provisional. I was just about to hit my provisional, so my fourth shot, so to say, and one of the spectators found my ball, my first one.

"I walked in there, tired of the whole day already, and the ball was underneath the branch, couldn't chip it out. I said, okay, this is unplayable. Picked the ball up, and then just stupidly hit my fourth shot.

"Just kept going, made birdie with my second ball, so to say, and made a bogey."

Siem added that he felt he'd made a mistake only when he sat down to sign his card and so called in a referee to explain - who then informed him he was disqualified.

"I was just about to sign my card, and I just realised something is off here," Siem continued.

"I said 'guys I dont think I made a six let's call a referee'. I said, 'dude, I think I made a mistake here, right? I'm supposed to go back to the 18th tee box and play my third shot, right?' Because it's water hazard, and if I declared as unplayable, I have to go back, and I cannot hit my provisional ball.

"So that was the case and I'm disqualified because of that."

Siem is trying to stay positive after his rough stretch, but hopes to put things right with a good performance at the upcoming French Open.

Paul Higham
Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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