English golfer Marco Penge says he is “in disbelief” as he prepares to tee off the DP World Tour’s penultimate tournament with a chance of winning the Race to Dubai.
The 27-year-old, who has emerged as British golf’s hottest male prospect with three wins this season, will play with Race leader Rory McIlroy for the first time when he competes in this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Penge’s original goal for the season was to merely make it to the season-ending play-off events here in the Middle East. The final competition, the DP World Tour Championship is in Dubai next week.
It is fair to say the Clitheroe pro, who credits a relatively recent diagnosis for ADHD as a factor in his success, has exceeded all expectations in 2025.
He started the year being suspended by the DP World Tour for breaching rules by betting on multiple golf events.
Penge did not bet on himself or tournaments he was participating in and it led to an independent disciplinary panel to find the integrity of the events which he bet on “had not been compromised”.
He received a three-month ban – with one month suspended for a year.
Penge has become McIlroy’s biggest threat to the Northern Irishman’s quest for a seventh order of merit title.
“To finish top 50 on the rankings was my main goal at the start of the year after being suspended,” Penge told BBC Sport.
“So I’ve probably reset my goals four or five times this year. I got in the Open after finishing third in South Africa, then winning in China. To win was always a goal.
“Then winning multiple times in a year was another and that happened,” he added.
His victory at the Open de Espana in late summer guaranteed a Masters debut next April and he has also earned a spot on the PGA Tour next season.
“I still am in disbelief that I am in the position that I am,” he said. “Not from the point that I don’t think I’m good enough, just from the point of how fast it’s happened.”
Now he is preparing to tee it up alongside Masters champion McIlroy and Ryder Cup star Tyrrell Hatton, who lies third in the Race to Dubai standings.
“It’s going to be fun,” Penge smiled. “Rory is the best player of my generation and someone who my game is probably most similar to.
“I’m a great driver of the ball and hit it far and have some flair, so I’m excited to compare my game with his and see where I need to be better because he is kind of the benchmark.”
Having saved his tour card in the last counting event last year, Penge is not daunted by the opportunity to make up fewer than 500 points to overtake McIlroy while trying to hold off Hatton’s challenge for the season-long crown.
“I look at it purely from a learning standpoint. I think that is the best way for me to be relaxed,” Penge said.
“I think if I go out there trying to be intense and ultra-competitive with them it is only going to build pressure. I like to play down everything, that’s how I see life in general.
“I want to take it in my stride, enjoy it and have some fun.”