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Plenty of golfers like to get their drink on when they hit the course, although that’s not usually the case with the ones who play the sport for a living. However, Marcel Siem copped to having a few too many ahead of a round at Pebble Beach where he came one stroke away from tying the scoring record at the iconic venue.
Golf isn’t exactly the most physically taxing sport on the planet, and when you consider many people turn to that pastime to relax despite its impressive ability to produce bouts of rage, it’s only natural some of them incorporate a drink or five into those outings.
There are many golfers who would tell you they play better after a couple of adult beverages—including John Daly, a man who has been very transparent about his drinking habits but says he nonetheless managed to abstain during actual tournaments with the exception of one round at what is now known as the Genesis Invitational.
That brings us to Marcel Siem, the German pro who is best known for what he’s achieved on the European Tour but has also made a little more than $1 million in the 35 PGA Tour events he’s played in since 2004.
That includes the 2015 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, an event where he took home $95,200 after finishing in a tie for 18th with the help of the 63 he shot during the third round—one shy of the course record of 62 at the time (Wyndham Clark set the current mark to beat with a 60 at the same event in 2024).
During a recent appearance on the Life on Tour podcast, Siem reflected on that round while revealing he was operating on zero sleep after being severely overserved following a night filled with Long Island Iced Tea, beers, and glasses of champagne that preceded a round where he recorded seven birdies and an eagle and never had anything worse than a par.
Siem—who’s memory of that day is understandably a bit hazy—incorrectly asserted that was one of the three occasions when he at least tied a course record while “hammered” and noted he puked two times while playing the 18 holes where he was paired with pro surfer Kelly Slater, who hopped into the comments to share his recollection of what went down.
In 2023, Jon Rahm revealed he got drunk with his friends and shot a 60 at his home course in Arizona a week before he won The Masters, and while we’ll likely never live in a world where the PGA Tour organizes an event where every participant has to play while intoxicated, they’re missing out on a golden opporunity.