Marcel Siem admitted winning the BMW International Open would be the "biggest dream" after soaring into contention in Munich.
It is an emotional week for the the 44-year-old, who is a former club champion at Golfclub München Eichenried, a place where both his parents also worked during his childhood.
On his 24th appearance in this tournament - he made his debut in 1998 - the charismatic German has arguably his best chance of lifting the trophy following a flawless 66 on Friday.
After only getting into the red numbers on Thursday when he eagled the par-five last, Siem kickstarted his second round with another eagle at the same hole, his ninth, before rolling in birdies at the second, third, fourth and ninth to sit five adrift of halfway leader Davis Bryant.
Marcel Siem delivers an excellent finish again 😍#BMWInternationalOpen pic.twitter.com/HOPBZ3vQsy
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 4, 2025
"It's fantastic. I've got to be careful not to fist pump too much on a Friday, but with all the crowd around it's a lot of fun," Siem said.
"It was a slow start again, I didn't let it go, holding on to the club, avoiding mistakes. Then on 18, I said 'I'm going to that flag, we need to change the pattern here somehow', and yeah from that onwards I freed up for a few holes, and then five, six, seven, eight and nine was a little bit crampy again, so hopefully I can loosen up a bit more on the weekend.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Nine isn't as risky as 18, especially being on the cut mark - I was only one under for the tournament going for that flag. My heart was pumping hardcore there.
"Like I said, I wanted to change the pattern. It's fantastic, so much fun with the crowd and I hope I can keep it going and, yeah, a lot of golf to be played.
When asked if this tournament was as big as the four Majors to him, Siem added: "Yeah, for sure, by far.
"When I was 13-year-old, I always came back here even when I lived in Cologne. It was always my dream to win this tournament, and Martin (Kaymer) did it which was great, but I grew up here, I went to school here. It would be fantastic.
"It is definitely the biggest dream for me to achieve that goal - it's up there with the Masters and playing the Ryder Cup, winning the BMW International Open here. These are the three things I still have to achieve, so it's going to be very interesting.
"It is the first time I have a chance actually (to win the tournament) in 20 years, I guess."
