PGA Tour-bound star shuts down LIV Golf speculation: ‘I’m going to America!’
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With LIV Golf rumored to be on the verge of adding some big names to its roster, one rising DP World Tour star was keen to rule himself out…
Marco Penge spent the weekend subject to speculation he is on the verge of joining LIV Golf. He ended it with a trophy in his hands and plans to chase the American dream.
Penge edged Daniel Brown with a birdie at the first playoff hole to win the Open de Espana – the Englishman’s third title of a season that started with a three-month ban for breaching the DP World Tour’s betting rules – and, with it, booked a spot in both the Masters and Open Championship fields next year.
The 27-year-old has played in golf’s oldest major on three occasions and is yet to reach the weekend, but it will be his debut at Augusta National – and he clearly fancies his chances.
“It’s crazy,” Penge said following his victory in Madrid. “It’s a golf course that I’ve always wanted to play because I feel like my game sets up really good for it.”
The win will also move him up to a career-high 31 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
“My goal was to get in the top 50 in the world by the end of the year,” he added. “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.”
Penge’s next goal is to catch Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai standings. He trails the Northern Irishman by 393 points with four tournaments to play. But whatever happens in the remainder of the DP World Tour season, Penge will wrap up his PGA Tour card for 2026.
And that’s where the LIV Golf speculation ended.
“I’m going to America [on Monday] with my wife to find a place for when we move in January,” Penge told TenGolf in Spain.
“I’m playing the PGA Tour next year.
“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.”
Penge is not currently in the field for either this week’s DP World India Championship or the following week’s Genesis Championship in Korea.