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Three DP World Tour wins, a surge up the Race to Dubai, and a showdown with Rory McIlroy — Marco Penge’s breakthrough year couldn’t be written.
Few stories have captured attention like Marco Penge’s. From the edge of losing his DP World Tour card 12 months ago, the 27-year-old Englishman has turned setbacks into three DP World Tour titles this season and is in a close chase of Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai, while also notching a PGA Tour card for next season.
Penge has arrived in the United Arab Emirates for the DP World Tour Play-Offs, with a rapidly transformed career as he looks to pip World Number Two Rory McIlroy, to the Harry Vardon Trophy.
“He’s obviously a bit of a role model and inspires me a lot,” Penge says on McIlroy. “It’s nice to be going head-to-head with him. We’ll see what happens.”
It’s been a remarkable rise for a player who was fighting to keep his DP World Tour card just one year ago in Korea. Penge needed a birdie on the last hole at the 2024 Genesis Championship to make the cut and secure his playing rights. “That day was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been,” he recalls. “But when that putt dropped, I knew I belonged out here.”
Even off the course, a knee operation, a suspension, and career-threatening setbacks might have ended other players’ dreams. Penge, however, has used those challenges as fuel. “I think my best attribute is probably my mentality,” he says. “The attitude to bounce back and accept failure.
“Winning’s great, but it still comes with mental tiredness. I love a challenge. I love proving people wrong. That’s the whole reason why I play the game.”
2025 Hainan Classic. Eurasia Sport Images / Getty Images
After a healthy amateur career, Penge turned professional in 2017, and first made a dent in headlines in 2023, when he won the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos before claiming the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final in Mallorca just six weeks later. The victories secured him the number one spot on the HotelPlanner Tour’s Road to Mallorca Rankings and promotion to the DP World Tour. “To be standing there saying I’d won twice and finished No.1 was hard to imagine,” he says. “It hadn’t quite sunk in, but I was over the moon.”
His DP World Tour rookie season, that began under pressure, ended with a glimpse of his ability to perform having made just 10 cuts in the whole season but eventually was enough to keep his card in Korea, giving him a free run again in 2025.
If that wasn’t stressful enough, a breach of DP World Tour regulations led to a suspension for Penge over the winter period 12 months ago.
“When I found out I would not be able to play for a couple of months, I sat down with my team and said, ‘This has happened now. How can we make sure we come back as strong as we can?’” The plan, he explains, involved improving every department of his game while building the confidence that would carry him through the season.
Penge then returned to the DP World Tour in February of this year with three consecutive top-20 finishes before his breakthrough win at the Hainan Classic in April, three shots ahead of his rivals.
“After my time off, it was the thing I wanted to prove to myself and to everyone, to show what a player I am,” he said.
He followed that up with another win at the Danish Golf Championship, where a dramatic birdie-birdie finish saw him edge out home-favourite Rasmus Højgaard. “I’ve been playing so well this year,” Penge says. “Coming back from my time off, to have won so soon and to achieve what I’ve achieved since I won, it’s amazing.”
2024 Genesis Championship. Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
Then just a matter of weeks ago, Penge claimed his third DP World Tour victory of the season by beating countryman Dan Brown in a play-off at the Open de España presented by Madrid and earned a place in both The 154th Open and the Masters Tournament next season.
“To play the rest of the season knowing I’m in the Masters, having won the Spanish Open, three wins this year, and playing The Open Championship, I’m just so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and for making the most of them.
“I never would’ve thought that six or seven months ago. But I’ve done it, and now I need to enjoy the celebrations without taking my foot off the pedal. I want to keep going for more. That’s just the person I am, I love playing golf, I love competing, and I love challenging myself.”
These three titles have given Penge the opportunity to compete side-by-side more often with the games best players. “I try to watch how top players handle themselves,” he says. “Some are very meticulous, some are very chilled. You pick up little things here and there. You take the good stuff and apply it to your own game. That’s what helps you grow.”
“Everyone’s slightly different,” he says. “Matt Fitzpatrick is very detailed with his preparation. Then someone like Dustin Johnson, who I played with recently at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, is a bit different.
“Some are just very chilled, some are very intense. I feel like I have a bit of both in certain moments.” Those observations, combined with Marco’s own temperament, have helped him steer those high-pressure situations throughout the year.
2025 Danish Golf Championship. Jan Kruger / Getty Images
Family has been a grounding force for Penge. His wife Sophie, a professional herself, and their 18-month-old son Enzo, offers him both perspective and motivation when travelling the globe. “Trying to be the best golfer I can be while being the best husband and father is pretty hard,” he admits.
“I’ve learned to manage it in a better way. When I am at tournament weeks with my son, I prioritise time with him in the evening and switch off from golf in those moments.” Watching videos of Enzo laughing before a round, he says, gives him “inner strength.”
Now, with the Race to Dubai entering its final stretch, Penge is focused on the Middle East. Abu Dhabi and Dubai will host the Play-Offs, and he is eager to take advantage of every opportunity to move up the Rankings. “I’m just focusing on myself, trying to keep my year as good as I can,” he says. “I want more wins. I want more top-five finishes. Going up against Rory, I couldn’t ask for more than that. I really want to play with him in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.”
The Middle East has become an important stage for Penge’s ambitions. Playing in the upcoming Rolex Series events at Yas Links and Jumeirah Golf Estates offers him once again another chance to test himself against the world’s best while showcasing his form to a region that has become synonymous with world-class golf. “Playing here is always special,” he says. “The courses, the fans, the atmosphere — it’s different. It’s one of those places where you feel the energy and you want to perform.”
His rise over the past two season has been equal in growing as a player and person as much off the golf course as on it. “I’ve had to go through a lot growing up — moving away from home young, getting married, becoming a dad, having knee surgery, going through Covid,” he reflects.
“It’s all played a part. The things I’ve been through, they’ve made me grow up. I’m an adult now. I need to be professional in every area.”
“I’m still not one to get overawed by the fame,” he says. “I just see myself as a guy who loves his family, friends, and appreciates the opportunities I’ve been given in my life. That’s the most important thing — remaining grounded and humble.”
2025 Open de Espana. Stuart Franklin / Getty Images
“I feel the way I’m playing now and the player I perceive myself to be now, I would say I’m ready to try and win more on the DP World Tour, compete in more Majors, but I’ve still got a lot to learn at the same time,” he reflects.
As the DP World Tour heads to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, he has the chance to cement his place not just as a winner, but as a contender for one of the game’s biggest season-long prizes and become just the 8th Englishman to win Race to Dubai Rankings.
“I’ve always believed in myself,” he says. “The last couple of years have been a roller coaster, but I’ve proven to myself that I can handle pressure, grow from mistakes, and still come out stronger. Now it’s about finishing the year the right way, staying focused, and enjoying every moment. Playing against Rory, in front of these crowds, in the Middle East, is exactly where I want to be.”
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This article was featured in the November 2025 issue of Golf Digest Middle East. Click here for a digital issue of the full magazine
