Siem tones it down

Germany’s Marcel Siem has taken a leaf from Phil Mickelson’s book as he looks to claim his second European Tour title of the season.

Mickelson finally toned down his aggressive style of play this year and was rewarded with a long-overdue first major title in the US Masters at Augusta.

Siem has followed suit and already won the Dunhill Championship in South Africa in January, and went into today’s second round of the Spanish Open in Fuerteventura just three shots off the lead after an opening 67.

“I have worked hard on my game to try and hit more greens and fairways and maybe not to hit such long drives,” said the 23-year-old.

“It is fun for the crowds to see big drives but I want to stay calm on the course and the way I play sometimes it is pretty hard to stay calm.

“But my coach told me to focus on that and it is working at the moment which is good.”

Siem has been paired with doubles Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal for the first two rounds – and outscored him by four shots – and feels that is one of the major benefits of his victory in Johannesburg.

“It is much easier to go and play now, especially with the cameras,” he added. “Before I won I had a problem about staying calm and concentrating on my game with the cameras around and the crowds.

“But it is easier now and I am enjoying it a little bit more and the draws I have been getting are fantastic, playing with people like Olazabal, Ignacio Garrido and Ian Woosnam.

“It is unbelievable fun to play with guys like that, I can learn from their experience and I am enjoying the results.”

Welshman David Park was the overnight leader after a first-round 64, six under par, gave him a one-shot lead over compatriot Jamie Donaldson.

Park made an amazing start to his European Tour career, leading from the start of his first event in the Moroccan Open in 1999 only to lose to Miguel Angel Martin on the sixth hole of a play-off.

The following week he went one better by winning the Compaq European Grand Prix and finished 40th in the Order of Merit from just 15 starts, but struggled to recapture that form the following year and had to return to the qualifying school to keep his playing rights in 2001.

“It was a little difficult to deal with because it was a goal of mine and it came a bit quicker than I had envisioned so it was a bit of a shock to the system,” explained the 29-year-old from Hereford, who has not finished in the top three since his win – a total of 134 events.

“It was sort of ‘where do I go from here?’ and it took me a while to figure it out.

“There were a couple of years where I stagnated a bit in all aspects of my game while everyone else improved. But I have improved over the last few years and apart from the first round last week I have been playing nicely.”