Golf can be a cruel sport off the course as well as on it. For most of us, this means rain on a day off, an airline losing your clubs on the way to vacation or a buddy besting your handicap despite playing half as many rounds. For pros, however, things can get so, SO much more brutal.

Just ask DP World Tour veteran Marcel Siem. This week, the six-time winner sat down with the “Life on Tour” podcast to tell some tall tales and reflect on his career. After settling in with a drink, the subject soon turned to one of the wildest (and most heartbreaking) Masters stories you’ll ever hear. Take it away, Marcel.

Missing out on a Masters debut by 0.01 ranking points. @SiemMarcel never fails to entertain! pic.twitter.com/eO9vmIHoMC

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) December 18, 2024

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If ever a story was meant to be told over a couple whiskies, this is it. As many crazy stories do, it all began in Morocco following Siem’s Trophée Hassan II victory in 2013. The win elevated Siem to 49th in the world rankings, seemingly qualifying him to play in his first Masters in two weeks’ time. Everyone on site in Morocco congratulated him on his accomplishment. He called his wife at home to tell her the good news, and she immediately started partying. The vibes were through the roof … but they didn’t last long.

A few hours later, the PGA Tour called Siem to tell him that both Henrik Stenson and Daniel Berger had unexpectedly hot finishes—birdie, par, birdie, birdie and eagle, par, birdie, birdie, respectively—bumping Siem out of final Masters qualifying spot by .01 world ranking points. As a makeweight, the PGA Tour offered him a spot in that week’s Valero Texas Open, but he would have to win if he wanted to score a Masters invite … and he was still Morocco.

AGADIR, MOROCCO – MARCH 31: Marcel Siem of Germany poses with the trophy dagger after winning the Trophee du Hassan II Golf on a score of -17 under par at Golf du Palais Royal on March 31, 2013 in Agadir, Morocco. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Warren Little

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Siem accepted the invite and used his prize money from his win to charter his first-ever private jet home to Germany, where he arrived at 3 a.m. with no keys. After banging on the windows to wake up his wife who had passed out from partying a bit too hard, Siem raced to catch a 6:40 a.m. flight to make it San Antonio in time for the Texas Open. Despite all that, Siem recalls being just two back with six holes to play before one final indignity struck:

A triple-bogey seven on the par 4 12th. Siem recalls it being a 9, but it probably just felt like that, as the collapse sealed his unfortunate Masters fate.

Unfortunately, that proved to be Siem’s last, best chance to qualify for the Masters, the only major which he has still not played. Today, Siem remembers the story with a disbelieving head shake and a self-deprecating chuckle, but safe to say he wasn’t laughing at the time.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com