In an all-English playoff at the Open de España, Marco Penge defeated Daniel Brown with a birdie on the first extra hole to claim his third DP World Tour victory of the season and his career. It’s the most victories of anyone on tour this year.
“I felt like I was up against it [today],” Penge said. “But I felt like I managed myself really well and I thought tee to green I played really solid.”
Penge shot 66-67-64-72 (-15) at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. The victory moved him to second in the Race to Dubai Rankings and within reach of leader Rory McIlroy. It also put him in great position to earn a PGA Tour card for next season, as the top 10 not already exempt earn their cards.
In addition, the victory earned Penge an invitation to the 2026 Masters and a berth in next year’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
“It’s crazy,” Penge said. “[Augusta National] is a golf course I’ve always wanted to play because I feel like my game sets up really good for it.”
Penge led after the first two rounds at 9-under. Nine players were within two strokes of the lead, including Joel Girrbach at 8-under and Patrick Reed and Brown at 7-under.
In the third round, Penge shot 7-under 64 with eight birdies despite breaking his wedge on the second hole after playing his second from behind a tree. He scrambled to make par on that hole. Penge increased his lead to four strokes, with Girrbach the closest to him. Brown and Reed were both five back at 11-under.
“Credit to the lads. They’ve done unbelievable to catch me. I’m just very grateful to be the one who won in the end.”
Marco Penge
But Penge struggled in the final round. Playing with Girrbach and Brown in the final group, Penge played his first seven holes in 2-over par, dropping him to 14-under. At the turn, Girrbach had tied Penge for the lead with Brown one stroke behind.
On the 12th hole, both Girrbach and Brown made bogeys while Penge made a 7-foot putt for his first birdie of the day, giving him a two-stroke lead.
Another Girrbach bogey on the 13th dropped him three behind the leader. Brown, who finished the hole minutes after his competitors after receiving medical attention on his shoulder, made birdie to climb to within two.
Brown continued his comeback by birdieing the 15th hole to go one behind Penge and that small gap remained going into No. 18.
On the short par-4, Brown put the pressure on by hitting his approach shot close. In a greenside bunker after his tee shot, Penge hit a disappointing second and made par. Brown forced a playoff by making his short birdie putt.
In the playoff, Brown made par while Penge got up and down for birdie and the victory.
“Credit to the lads,” Penge said. “They’ve done unbelievable to catch me. I’m just very grateful to be the one who won in the end.”
While he came up just short, Brown’s second-place finish moved him into the top 10 of the Race to Dubai Rankings and in a good spot to earn a PGA Tour card for next season.
Girrbach’s third-place finish secured his DP World Tour card for next season, propelling him from outside the top 100 to 60th in the Race to Dubai Rankings. Alex Fitzpatrick, who also started outside the top 100, finished T9 and also secured his card.
Spain’s Jon Rahm, the tournament favorite, also finished T9.
Notables who missed the cut included Shane Lowry, Haotong Li and defending champion Angel Hidalgo.
Everett Munez