One of Europe’s rising stars is heading to the US in 2026, which includes a stop at Augusta National.
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Englishman Marco Penge outlasted Dan Brown in a playoff to capture the Open de Espana. It is Penge’s third DP World Tour victory of the year after capturing Hainan Classic in April and the Danish Golf Championship in August. All due respect to both those previous wins, this one came with bonuses, as it granted invitations into next year’s Masters and Open Championship under a new national opens exemption instituted in August.
“It’s crazy. It’s a golf course that I’ve always wanted to play, because I feel like my game sets up really good for it,” Penge said. “My goal was to get in the top 50 in the world by the end of the year. I think that made it a little easier playing the playoff, knowing that if I don’t win, I’m still going to be at the Masters. I tried to do a bit of reverse psychology there but no, I’m looking forward to it.”
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That Penge found himself in a playoff is credit to Brown, who nearly had to withdraw from the tournament down the closing stretch due to an injury to his neck and shoulders. Brown, the Cinderella story at the Open Championship at Royal Troon in 2024, had to receive medical attention three times across the final seven holes, yet still made three birdies in that stretch to force sudden death against Penge.
However, Brown could only muster a par on the first hole of extra time, while Penge converted a 10-footer for birdie to secure the victory.
The win moves Penge up to No.2 in the Race to Dubai. The top 10 finishers in the standings who are otherwise not exempt receive PGA Tour cards, and with just weeks left in the season Penge has essentially locked up his status for 2026. In the golf industry, Penge has been one of the names associated to move to LIV Golf next year. However, speaking to Spanish golf outlet TenGolf, Penge asserted his focus is on the PGA Tour.
“I’m going to America tomorrow with my wife to find a place for when we move in January,” Penge said. “I’m playing the PGA Tour next year and hopefully I’ll have a great season and finish in the playoffs there and then come back to the DP World Tour and play the rest of the season here.
“I love playing golf and I’d play every week if my team let me. I want to be playing against the best players in the world and I want to be playing national opens like this. When you win a couple of national opens, that’s something that I’ll never forget and something that my family will never forget. So, that’s my plan.”
With the win, Penge moves up to 31st in the Official World Golf Ranking.