Kirk & Siem Back In The Winner’s Circle After Trials & Tribulations

There was plenty of golf to be had this weekend, and it wasn’t the young guns leading the pack. The minimum age required to win was 37 years old on their respective tours. The victorious were: Chris Kirk and Marcel Siem These men have amassed 10 wins across their careers on both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. More impressively, these men have faced some significant highs and lows in their lives. 

We’ll start with Chris Kirk, the seasoned veteran took an indefinite leave from golf in May 2019 to conquer his battle with alcoholism. He took 7 months off in 2019 to return late in the year. As one might hope, Kirk began finding his groove in the 2020- 2021 season. Kirk had a solid season amassing 4 top 10’s and 9 top 25’s. He followed the next season with the same consistent play.

Fast forward to this season, Kirk found himself in the hunt three times this season and finally captured his 5th PGA Tour Win after an 8-year winless drought. 

“I’m so thankful for my sobriety. I’m so thankful for my family.”

In 2019, @Chris_Kirk_ took a break from golf to battle alcohol abuse and depression.

Four years later, he’s once again a PGA TOUR champion. pic.twitter.com/O8v9xG9Sr0

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 26, 2023

Marcel Siem had similar joy this weekend, cracking his winless drought this past weekend. Siem cracked his 8-year winless drought like Kirk. For Siem, it has been quite the resurgence since the early 2010s when he was winning multiple times and was on the winning side of Team Europe in the 2012 Ryder Cup. 

A moment to remember for @SiemMarcel 🙌#HIO2023 pic.twitter.com/vaT1AZh5nI

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 27, 2023

In other words, he was at the height of his career however, after 2014, when the winning success dried up, Siem began to look for something new to chase in his swing. He wanted to model Dustin Johnson’s swing in the bowed wrist, this destroyed his game. These changes lead to him losing his card on the DP World Tour. However, Marcel was able to turn it around and regain his card through the Challenge Tour in 2021 while showing great form in the Open Championship, finishing 15th. Now picking up his first win since the 2014 BMW Masters. 

Just like life, we have seen players of all calibers bounce back from some of the worst situations. When the occasion arises, we all love to see the “impossible” made possible.

Cover Image Via CNN