Players 2026: Breakout European star says these are the hardest things about adapting to the PGA Tour
Marco Penge hits a drive during the Genesis Invitational.
Orlando Ramirez
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Runaway European star Marco Penge’s move to the U.S. and the PGA Tour has been equal parts exciting and daunting. He has chosen an NBA team (Lakers), is getting used to drive-through ATMs, turning right at (some) red lights and the many options at Starbucks. Apart from that, it’s taken a couple months to adjust to playing full-time on the PGA Tour for the 27-year-old Englishman ahead of making his Players Championship debut.
Last year, long and straight drives, formidable long-iron play and some clutch putting catapulted Penge from the DP World Tour to the PGA Tour this season. He won three DPWT titles, nearly overcame Rory McIlroy in the season-long Race to Dubai title and narrowly missed out on a spot on Europe’s Ryder Cup team. Penge also earned his TPC Sawgrass debut by finishing top of the 10 DP World members who secured PGA Tour cards for this year.
Penge, now ranked 38th in the world, was comfortably the DP World Tour’s best performer among the full-time members. Then it was time to move his young family to the U.S. Not to mention, Penge and his wife, Sophie, have welcomed a second child—Romeo, born on Feb. 24—while Penge was dealing with weeks-long stretches on the road.
“That was the first challenge, and we're really enjoying being based over here and my wife's really enjoying it, which is the main thing because obviously playing tournaments week to week, but she's moved away from her family and support system,” Penge said at TPC Sawgrass on Wednesday.
Penge and his wife chose Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., as their base, then found a club (Old Palm) to begin practice. That wasn’t before one club turned him away, which Penge said was due to his wearing of a T-shirt and shorts because he had just flown into Orlando and drove to Palm Beach Gardens.
Once settled, Penge began preparing his game for the PGA Tour.
“[I’m enjoying] the golf courses [on the PGA Tour]; I've dreamt of playing golf courses like [TPC Sawgrass] and the condition that it's in, it's just unbelievable,” he said. “I'm loving playing with the best players in the world week to week and learning every week. It's an experience that you should only get better from.”
With an average drive of almost 320 yards and 72 percent of greens in regulation hit on the DP World Tour last year, one could be forgiven for assuming Penge would be contending – possibly winning – soon after his debut as a PGA Tour member at Torrey Pines. But he missed the cut there and at the WM Phoenix Open before a T-64 at Pebble Beach. He showed his talent by leading through two rounds at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera but faded to T-16.
“I think just adapting to the conditions and [course set-ups]; every area of your game is under pressure over here,” Penge said. “I find in Europe you can get away with a couple areas of your game being not so great. [TPC Sawgrass] is a perfect example [of difficult PGA Tour setups]. You've got to hit it straight off the tee. Yes, if you hit it long, great, but if it's not on the fairway, then it's a bit of a waste of time. If you're missing greens, then you're going to find it tough to get up and down. When you do hit greens, [imprecise iron shots] could leave you with downhill, across the slope putts. Your pace needs to be good when holing out.
“It's a real test every area, and that's the part that I'm enjoying because it's highlighted a couple areas of my game that need to be better … and parts of my game that are good enough to be playing against the best guys.”
While Penge ranks third on the tour for strokes gained/off the tee, he could improve his approach play (150th) and putting (147th). He is acutely aware, even when beating an elite field at Riviera through two rounds by shooting 66-64.
“Yeah, obviously leading after two rounds was good, but I still didn't feel like I was quite happy with where my game was,” Penge said. “I felt certain areas were kind of carrying certain parts of my game. My iron plays been pretty appalling all year, but I've just changed my iron shaft and now I've kind of got the ball flight in the window that I want it to be. It took four or five weeks to kind of get that right, but we finally got there.”
Just in time for the Players. Penge wasn’t exempt into last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, so TPC Sawgrass is his first signature event at a demanding golf course in almost a month. If Riviera is any guide, Penge hopes the moment and TPC Sawgrass’ varying tests will force him to produce his best golf.
“I feel like this is where I belong and where I've always destined to be and I still haven't fulfilled my potential, but I'm trying as hard as I can to fulfill that and that's how I compare myself week to week is to what I know I can achieve and hopefully one day I can fulfill that,” Penge said.