Marco Penge hasn’t played since missing the cut at the PGA Championship. He has had some promising news, though…
There is light at the end of the tunnel in what has been a nightmare year for Marco Penge.
The Englishman, who finished second in last season’s Race to Dubai Ranking to earn his PGA Tour card for 2026, has had an up-and-down start to life on the US circuit, with a T4 at the Valspar Championship, T16 at the Genesis Invitational, and a T21 at the Texas Open the only noteworthy performances.
Penge’s struggles to find any sort of consistency are down to a viral infection he picked up at the DP World Tour Championship in November. After missing the cut at the PGA Championship, the 28-year-old decided to take an extended break from the game to allow medical professionals to get to the bottom of the issue. He had hoped to be back in time for the US Open, but the trip to Shinnecock came around too quickly and a “gutted” Penge was forced to withdraw.
“I have had numerous scans and seen several specialists and we are getting close to resolving the issue that I’ve been struggling with for eight months,” he explained.
“My health is the number one priority for now, and until I get to the bottom of the issues I wont be competing. The plan is to return fully fit.”
Now, though, he has a return date circled on the calendar – the BMW International Open in July.
“After having five weeks on the sidelines and a few more weeks to get things right with my team, I’m aiming to return in Germany on the DP World Tour,” Penge noted on social media, adding that he has been “working really hard” on his health and fitness.
“I’m ready to test the waters and get back doing what I love.”
He later posted that the reason he was not returning to action on the PGA Tour was because his specialist does not want him to risk long-haul flights while he is still not 100 percent fit. “Baby steps,” he added.
It certainly makes sense. The German event takes place a week before the Genesis Scottish Open at Renaissance. Then it’s back to England for the 154th Open Championship a Royal Birkdale – but a pitch and a putt away from Penge’s Lancashire home that he shares with his wife, former Ladies European Tour player Sophie Lamb, and their two children.